COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Departmental Manpower

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many agency staff his Department and its non-departmental public bodies employ at each pay grade.

Bob Neill: The following table shows the breakdown of admin and clerical staff by grade working in the Department of Communities and Local Government as of 4 November 2010. The Department engages in total 10 admin and clerical staff. At EO, SEO and G7 there are fewer than five individuals engaged. We cannot disclose the exact number owing to reasons of confidentiality. The five agency staff are funded by the Ministry of Justice to cover the costs of a short term service provided by DCLG.
	
		
			  Grade  Number of agency staff 
			 AA 0 
			 AO 6 
			 EO <5 
			 HEO 0 
			 SEO <5 
			 G7 <5 
			 G6 0 
			 SCS 0 
		
	
	DCLG does not hold central staff records for its non-departmental public bodies and this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Housing Benefit

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether social landlords letting properties in local authority areas where social rents are in excess of 80 per cent. of market rent will be required to reduce rents when the affordable rent model is introduced.

Grant Shapps: Social landlords will not be obliged to charge a different rent on social rented properties due to the introduction of affordable rent. None of the new affordable rent proposals have any impact on existing social tenancies.

Housing Benefit

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether a social rented home under his proposed affordable rent model would be classified as affordable if the rent were in excess of the housing benefit cap.

Grant Shapps: Affordable rent levels can be up to maximum of 80% of local open market rents. Our expectation is that providers will want to take into account housing benefit caps when setting rents.

Local Government Boundary Commission

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has for the work of the Local Government Boundary Commission; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: The work programme of the independent Local Government Boundary Commission is a matter for it and this House to which it is accountable for its budget through the Speaker's Committee. Under the statute my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State may request the Commission to undertake reviews of administrative boundaries, but currently has no plans to do so.

Local Government Finance

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what reserves were held by each  (a) local authority and  (b) category of local authority in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11.

Bob Neill: I have today placed in the Library of the House a table that gives, by each local authority in England, and for each class of local authority in England, the non-school reserve level figures for the start and end of the financial years, revenue expenditure data for each financial year and non-school reserves at 31 March as a percentage of revenue expenditure for (i) 2009-10 (outturn) and (ii) 2010-11 (budget).

Newcastle Airport

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations he has received on payments made to chief operating officers and chief financial officers as a result of the refinancing of Newcastle airport; and what his policy is on the making of payments outside normal salary arrangements to senior officials as a result of financing agreements made by local authorities and their trading partners.

Bob Neill: Neither the Department for Communities and Local Government, nor the Department for Transport, have received any representations on payments made to chief operating officers and chief financial officers at Newcastle airport. All payments made to senior officers by their local authority employers and their trading partners must be lawful and locally justifiable. The forthcoming Localism Bill will contain provisions to increase accountability and transparency over the setting of senior officers' pay packages.

WALES

Railways

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the electrification of the great western main line.

Cheryl Gillan: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my oral response to the hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Mr Llwyd) earlier today.

RAF Valley

Albert Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on the likely effects on RAF Valley of the outcomes of the strategic defence and security review; and if she will make a statement.

David Jones: The Government are addressing the full range of issues affecting the defence estates following the strategic defence and security review.

Devolution

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when she last met the First Minister for Wales to discuss the implications for Wales of the Government's proposals for constitutional change.

Cheryl Gillan: I regularly meet with the First Minister, to discuss a wide range of issues including constitutional reform. The most recent meeting was on 6 December.

Great Western Railway: Electrification

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the timetable for electrification of the Great Western main line.

Cheryl Gillan: I have had, and continue to have, discussions with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport about this matter. We have already announced £7 billion of rail infrastructure improvements that will reduce journey times to Cardiff by 15 minutes and we will now work with the Welsh Assembly Government on the business case for further electrification.

TRANSPORT

Bus Services: Concessions

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many older people were eligible to receive a free bus pass in each local authority area in the latest period for which figures are available; and what methodology he uses to determine the number of older people that are eligible to receive such passes.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport does not maintain figures concerning the number of older people eligible to receive a free bus pass.
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes details on the number of people aged over 60 and living in England. At the mid-point of 2009 there were 11.5 million people aged 60 and over living in England. This figure can be broken down to local authority level and this breakdown has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
	Until 6 April 2010, the eligible age for concessionary travel was 60 and therefore all 11.5 million people included within the ONS figures were eligible to receive a free bus pass.
	Since 6 April 2010, the eligible age for concessionary travel for both men and women has been linked to the state pension age for women.
	As the pensionable age for women increases from 60 to 65 so too will the age of eligibility for concessionary travel. The age of eligibility will increase in line with any future changes to the state pension age for women. It will therefore not be possible to derive straightforward estimates of the number of older people eligible for concessionary travel from future ONS figures.
	Concessionary travel is a devolved policy area so the arrangements in England differ from those in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland-the number of people of eligible age in those areas is a matter for the relevant authorities.

Departmental Consultants

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) purpose and  (b) nature was of the management consultancy for which his Department paid AECOM Ltd. (i) £100,000 on 2 July 2010 and (ii) £150,000 on 22 July 2010.

Theresa Villiers: The payments to AECOM Ltd relate to the joint Department for Transport-Regional transport study considering access to/around the Tyne and Wear city region for freight and passengers, and the joint Department for Transport-Northern Way transport study considering movements between (and beyond) Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield for freight and passengers.
	Further details of the purpose of the studies can be found on the Department's website at:
	www.dft.gov.uk

Departmental Consultants

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) purpose and  (b) nature was of the management consultancy for which his Department paid MVA Consultancy £107,819.18 on 9 July 2010.

Theresa Villiers: The payment to MVA Consultancy is in relation to a Department for Transport led study considering challenges on Strategic National Corridor (SNC) 10 between London and Yorkshire (taking account of movements to and from the North East and Scotland) for freight and passenger movement.
	Further details of the purpose of the study can be found on the Department's website at:
	www.dft.gov.uk

Departmental Publications

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the expenditure of his Department and its predecessors on printing  (a) Command Papers,  (b) papers laid before Parliament by Act,  (c) consultation documents and  (d) other papers in each of the last 10 years.

Norman Baker: Publications are produced through various channels depending on value for money and official publishing requirements. Separating out the costs for each publication from the wider communication costs would require manual analysis of the Department's electronic financial system, which would require extensive resources and could be done only at disproportionate cost. The position is further complicated, in that over this 10-year period, some publications were managed and procured by the departmental publishing team and others were managed and procured by TSO (The Stationery Office) directly.

Driving: Licensing

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason Directive 2009/113/EC has not been implemented in the UK in respect of driving licence rules for eyesight, epilepsy and diabetes; and what deadline the European Commission has set for implementation of the Directive in member states.

Michael Penning: The UK has considered carefully, with the Secretary of State for Transport's expert medical panels, proposals to make changes to the standards. We are awaiting final cross-Government clearances before public consultation.
	Member states can have stricter health standards for driver licensing than those included in the directive. However, the deadline for implementing the directive for member states not meeting the minimum health standards was 25 August 2010.

Freight Facilities Grant

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding his Department plans to provide for the Freight Facilities Grant in each of the next three years.

Michael Penning: No formal announcement on the future of the Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) scheme has yet been made by the Department for Transport. Following the spending review settlement, we are currently considering what budgets will be available across a number of the Department's smaller programmes (including FFG).

Parking: Fees and Charges

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 18 October 2010,  Official Report, column 434W, on parking: fees and charges, whether any companies have been removed from the list of parking enforcement companies eligible to receive Driver and Licensing Agency vehicle keeper data since November 2009.

Norman Baker: Since November 2009, six companies have had their access to Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency vehicle keeper data terminated.

Parking: Fines

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2010,  Official Report, column 815W, on parking: fines, which six local authorities have written to his Department on increases in charges for parking penalties.

Norman Baker: holding answer 7 December 2010
	The approaches received by the Department for Transport to review parking penalty charges were from the following:
	Hartlepool Borough Council
	Lincolnshire County Council
	Somerset County Council
	St Albans City and District Council
	Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire District Council jointly

Railways: Brighton

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the likely effects of raising the existing cap on rail fares on  (a) the number of journeys (i) by train and (ii) by car,  (b) levels of carbon dioxide emissions and  (c) road congestion between Brighton and Hove and London; and if he will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: The Department for Transport expects that rail passenger journeys will continue to increase during the period from 2012 to 2014.

Railways: Construction

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which proposals in the Network Rail Control Period 4 delivery plan in each  (a) nation and  (b) region of England (a) are being carried out as scheduled, (b) are being carried out with a delayed completion date, (c) are suspended or pending and (d) have been cancelled; for what reason each proposal not carried out as scheduled has been (i) delayed, (ii) suspended and (iii) cancelled; and what the cost of each proposal is, expressed in 2009 prices.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 23 November 2010
	The scope and costs of the Network Rail Control Period 4 delivery plan are determined by Network Rail and, when approved by the independent Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), are published by Network Rail. Changes to this plan are subject to rail industry consultation and to approval by the ORR, which publishes all such approvals. Despite a tough spending review, the great majority of Government investment in rail infrastructure in England and Wales has been confirmed. The Government expects to announce its position on the remaining projects shortly. The specification and funding of infrastructure outputs in Scotland is a devolved matter.

Road Traffic Controls

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the effects of speed humps on vehicle suspension systems.

Norman Baker: In 2004 the Department commissioned the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), to evaluate the impact of road humps on vehicle suspension systems. TRL found no evidence of any damage, provided the humps were constructed to the requirements of the Highways (Road Humps) Regulations 1999 and were driven over at an appropriate speed. The research report is available from the TRL website at:
	www.trl.co.uk
	under the title 'TRL Report 614: Impact of road humps on vehicles and their occupants'.
	The Department's Local Transport Note 1/07: 'Traffic Calming' also summarises this and other research into traffic calming. It is available from the Department's website at:
	www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/tpm/ltnotes/

Road Traffic Controls: Ambulance Services

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the effects of speed humps on ambulance services.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport has not carried out any research specifically into the impact of road humps on ambulance services.
	Local highway authorities must consult the local emergency services on the practicality of any proposed road hump measures in relation to their response times and vehicle types. 'Traffic Advisory Leaflet 1/07: Emergency services traffic calming schemes: A code of practice', published in 2007, sets out good practice arrangements for consultation.

Road Works

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has for introducing a road lane rental mechanism for utility firms which wish to excavate on the public highway; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: holding answer 6 December 2010
	The Department for Transport's business plan includes a commitment, by December 2011, to consult on and finalise regulations enabling new lane rental schemes in England. Once the necessary legislation is in place, it would then be for local highway authorities to submit proposals for approval.

Roads: Construction

Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review his Department's circular on Planning the Strategic Road Network to allow local decisions on infrastructure changes.

Michael Penning: There are no plans to update the circular, but we will consider whether revision is necessary following wider reforms to the planning system, which are intended to lift the burden of bureaucracy and empower communities to do things their way.
	Circular 2/07 on "Planning and The Strategic Road Network" exists to ensure that the impacts of new development on the network can be properly mitigated and does not worsen transport conditions for local residents. It explains the Government's policy in relation to development near the strategic road network and how the Department will use its powers to prevent the network becoming overloaded.

Roads: Snow and Ice

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what  (a) financial and  (b) physical resources are available to the Highways Agency to deal with adverse winter weather; what plans he has for the future level of such resources; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: The Highways Agency is responsible for maintaining the strategic motorway and trunk road network in England. The maintenance works, including the provision of a robust winter service, are delivered by Highways Agency contractors who are paid through fixed price contracts covering a range of routine maintenance activities. The cost for winter maintenance activity is included within the Highways Agency's annual budget, with a typical cost of £20 million. In addition to the preparations it has made for the winter ahead and following the recommendations in the Independent Winter Resilience Review led by David Quarmby, the Highways Agency is also facilitating the import of 250,000 tonnes of salt as a strategic reserve to support local highway authorities. The costs for this salt acquisition, storage and management will be reimbursed by authorities who receive salt from the strategic stocks.
	With respect to physical resources, the Highways Agency fleet of 437 new winter service vehicles (gritters), all with snow ploughs ready to be mounted during snow conditions, together with an additional 23 snow blowers, are ready for deployment. Prior to the current period of severe winter weather, the Highways Agency contractors held over 250,000 tonnes in their depots ready for use.
	Following the comprehensive spending review, Departments are assessing and confirming detailed allocations to their individual business areas. The Highways Agency is undertaking a review of all of its maintenance activities including winter service to maximise value for money and to ensure that priority areas receive the level of future funding required to maintain the appropriate level of service.

Severn Bridge: Tolls

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects credit card payment facilities to be made permanently available for users of the Severn Crossing.

Michael Penning: holding answer 25 November 2010
	 The Highways Agency anticipates that a permanent card payment system will be fully operational early next year.

Transport: Aberdeenshire

Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2010,  Official Report, column 303W, on transport: Aberdeenshire, what information his Department holds on major transport infrastructure projects which have been completed in the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire local authority areas between 1980 and 1999.

Norman Baker: None. As I indicated in my previous reply, this is devolved to the Scottish Government and is therefore a matter for Scottish Ministers.

Transport: Concessions

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what special grant funding he plans to allocate to each integrated transport authority to carry out its statutory duty to fund the national concessionary travel scheme in each of the next three years.

Norman Baker: Special grant funding provided by the Department for Transport to integrated transport authorities (ITAs) was only intended to cover the period from 2008-09 through to 2010-11. From April 2011 this funding will be subsumed into formula grant alongside the rest of the funding for concessionary travel which gives local authorities the freedom and flexibility they want in their use of funding. ITAs will therefore need to obtain the entirety of their funding to carry out their statutory duties in relation to concessionary travel through the levying process with metropolitan district councils.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy Supply

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many homes in  (a) the west midlands,  (b) London and the south-east,  (c) England and  (d) the UK received electricity supply from renewable sources in the last year; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: The majority of renewable electricity generated is supplied to the National Grid, who then transmit it across the country, so all grid connected UK homes will receive some electricity originating from renewable sources. DECC holds data on the total amount of electricity supplied by renewable sources, as well as total domestic electricity consumption. DECC does not collect data on the number of homes supplied solely by renewables-these would be homes directly connected to a renewable electricity generation facility and not taking any supply from the National Grid.
	In 2009, 6.7% of electricity generated in the UK was from renewable sources.

EU Law

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many EU directives are pending transposition into domestic legislation by his Department; and what estimate he has made of the cost of each such transposition.

Gregory Barker: The following EU directives are pending transposition by my Department. Total estimated economic, social and environmental costs and benefits are presented in present value terms from published impact assessments where available:
	1. 2009/72/EC-Electricity directive. EU Third Package-concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity. Costs yet to be confirmed.
	2. 2009/73/EC-Gas directive. EU Third Package-concerning common rules for the internal market in gas. Costs yet to be confirmed.
	3. 2009/71/Euratom-Safety of nuclear installations. Costs yet to be confirmed.
	4. 2009/28/EC-Promoting the use of energy from renewable sources. Cost £19.85 billion; Benefit £11billion.
	5. 2009/31/EC-Storage of CO2. Costs yet to be confirmed.
	6. 2009/119/EC-Oil stocking. Imposing an obligation to maintain minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products. Costs yet to be confirmed.
	7. 2009/29/EC-Directive amending 2003/87/EC so as to improve and extend the
	greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme of the Community. Costs yet to be confirmed.
	In addition, we have consulted on the inclusion of nitrous oxide in the EU ETS (2003/87/EC). Cost £32.3 million; Benefit £508.3 million.

Geothermal Power

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for what reason the UK Renewable Energy Strategy anticipates no contribution from deep geothermal energy; for what reason his Department has reduced the level of grant funding to the deep geothermal industry; what his policy is on deep geothermal heat and power; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: The UK Renewable Energy Strategy (RES) was published by DECC in July 2009. It recognised the potential of deep geothermal energy, noting (page 43) that:
	"although...geothermal [power] projects are not included in the lead scenario, they could contribute going forward".
	Reflecting this positive view of the technology, the RES also noted (page 145) that:
	"as it matures [deep geothermal power] could become a significant player in the UK's energy landscape".
	The RES also announced a commitment of financial support to the deep geothermal sector, through an initiative which became the Deep Geothermal Challenge Fund.
	The decision to reduce the level of grant funding for deep geothermal projects this year from £2 million to £1 million was taken in July as part of DECC's £85 million contribution to the overall Government effort to deliver £6 billion of savings in this financial year.
	The Government recognise the potential of deep geothermal energy as a low carbon, renewable and non-intermittent energy form that can produce both power and heat, and have encouraged it through the Deep Geothermal Challenge Fund.

Renewable Energy

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the UK's capacity to meet the EU renewable energy target for 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: The EU 2020 renewable energy target requires the UK to obtain 15% of its energy (electricity, heat and transport) from renewable sources by 2020. We also inherited from the previous Government a non-legally binding target for 10% of UK electricity to be from renewable sources by the end of 2010.
	As a result of the failure to make sufficient progress in past years, the UK will miss the 2010 renewable electricity target this year. However, analysis of the pipeline indicates that the rate of deployment is increasing and we estimate reaching 10% in 2012.
	For 2020, the latest statistics show that 3% of our energy came from renewable sources at the end of 2009(1). Analysis carried out in 2009 shows that meeting our 2020 target is challenging but achievable. We will publish a Renewables Delivery Plan in the spring which will drive faster deployment through the decade.
	(1) Source:
	Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics (DUKES) 2010

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Equal Pay

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities when she plans to announce her decision on the implementation of the Equality Act 2010 provisions relating to gender pay information.

Lynne Featherstone: The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) announced publication of the Government's equality strategy in a written ministerial statement on 2 December 2010,  Official Report, column 87WS. The strategy includes a commitment to develop a voluntary approach on gender pay reporting in the private and voluntary sector. While we work with business and others to ensure this approach is successful, we will not commence, amend or repeal provisions in the Equality Act 2010 relating to gender pay information.

Public Sector: Disability

Jo Swinson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities when she plans to bring forward proposals to provide additional support for people with disabilities who wish to become  (a) hon. Members,  (b) councillors and  (c) other elected officials.

Lynne Featherstone: holding answer 6 December 2010
	 We have made a commitment as part of our coalition document to introduce extra support for disabled people who want to become MPs, councillors or other elected officials. We hope to consult on proposals later this month with a wide range of organisations including disability organisations, political parties and other partner organisations. In devising the proposals, we have drawn on evidence collated by the cross-party Speakers' Conference, which reported in January 2010, with recommendations on increasing diversity in parliamentary representation.

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMISSION

Public Accounts Committee

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission what National Audit Office resource was made available to support the work of the Public Accounts Committee in the latest period for which figures are available.

Andrew Tyrie: In the 2009-10 financial year, the full cost of the National Audit Office supporting the work of the Public Accounts Committee, and in particular its consideration of the Reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General, was £2.082 million.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Training

Christopher Chope: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what estimate has been made of the likely cost of the House of Commons tour guide training programme in 2010-11; what the duration of the course for each trainee is; what arrangements are in place for payment of trainees; and what the cost is of employing tour guides to substitute for those under training.

John Thurso: Following a detailed review of all aspects of visitor management at Parliament, an enhanced training and accreditation programme for in-house guides has been introduced as part of a package of measures designed to regularise and professionalise all aspects of guiding at Parliament.
	The cost of the training programme will depend on the final number of participants, but were all of the 80 guides currently registered on the in-house guide list to undertake the training, it would cost a maximum of £34,186 gross. The costs are shared between the Commons and the Lords on a 70:30 basis, so the cost to the House of Commons would be £23,930.
	The programme includes information about Parliament and the Palace, updates on developments in both Houses, and training in the mechanics of guiding and managing groups. Guides attend seven 90 minute training sessions, one longer communications seminar, and some practical tour sessions. In line with standard practice for House staff attending training, guides are not expected to undertake this training in their own time without recompense. Therefore, guides who also work at Parliament in another capacity either undertake training in work time with their line manager's agreement, or they undertake training outside of their other working hours, in which case they are paid for every 90 minutes of training at the rate of one tour (£34.29). It is not possible to give total costs as the training is still under way. The training sessions are being run more than once, to allow flexibility. Tours continue to run while the training programme is under way. Guides who are leading tours are taken from the existing pool while others are being trained.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departmental Contracts

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department plans to take to encourage and support small and medium-sized enterprises and third sector organisations to compete for departmental contracts, in line with value-for-money policy, UK regulations and EU procurement directives.

Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions is fully engaged with Government initiatives to promote the use of small and medium sized enterprises (SME) and third sector organisations (TSO) and increase the level of business they get from Government. This business can be either direct, by winning departmental contracts, or indirect working as partners with or sub-contractors to the Department's prime contractors.
	The Department is achieving the new Government commitment that 25% of contracts will be let to SMEs and in 2009-10 achieved 29%. The Department is also fully committed to using the new cross-Government pre-qualification questionnaire which is designed to simplify the tendering process for small and medium enterprises and will be launched in December 2010.
	The Department's plans to encourage and support SMEs and TSOs form part of a wider approach set out in the DWP commercial strategy. This has objectives to make it easier for suppliers to compete for contracts and encourage a diverse supply base.
	SMEs and TSOs are encouraged to contract with the Department, either as first tier suppliers, where capable, or as sub-contractors for more complex contracts. Part of the approach is to use the DWP supplier charter, signed by the department's top suppliers, which refers to extending its principles to SMEs as sub-contractors. Under the charter, larger suppliers are expected to use SMEs and voluntary organisations as sub-contractors, where it is appropriate, and brings definite added value for money.
	A significant proportion of the Department's business with SME and TSOs is in welfare to work provision, where their specialist and local expertise can add great value. In preparing the market for the Work programme the Department has engaged with these organisations to gain their views and encourage them to become involved. It has taken steps to encourage potential prime contractors to come together with a range of partners and sub-contractors, particularly to use SMEs and TSOs where they could add value to bids. The Department will run local events to help prime contractors understand the needs and issues within each locality so they can put together appropriate supply chains for that area. The assessment of Work programme bidders will include a requirement to name all of their key sub-contractors and partners in their tenders and provide a letter of intent from each, this will allow assessment of SME and TSO involvement and the nature of their arrangements with the prime contractor. The department will expect its prime providers to gain accreditation of the Merlin Standard, to ensure provider supply chains are effective, high performing and that smaller organisations are treated appropriately and fairly. The Department recently won the Compact award for National Partnership Working, for development of the Merlin Standard, which demonstrates its commitment to stewardship of the welfare to work market, and equally the involvement and health of TSOs in prime provider led supply chains.
	Each year the Department measures the number of SMEs and TSOs it has business with and the value of this business. In 2009-10 the Department had business with 5,039 SMEs, spending a total of £509 million with them, an increase of 18% over 2008-09. In 2009-10 the Department had business with 1,421 TSOs, spending a total of £305 million with them, an increase of 15% over 2008-09. Currently, some 30% of welfare to work provider sub-contracts are with voluntary sector organisations. The Department therefore has a strong record of encouraging, supporting and using SME and TSOs to support its business, either as direct contractors or as sub-contractors in supply chains. Current plans are expected to improve on this record.

Employment Schemes: Disability

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the merits of allowing incapacity benefit claimants to access elements of the Work Programme; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: The Work Programme will support a wide range of customers-from jobseeker's allowance recipients who have been out of work for some time, to customers who may previously have been receiving incapacity benefits for many years. We intend to give all customers in receipt of employment support allowance the opportunity to access the Work Programme, on either a voluntary or a mandatory basis-depending on their circumstances.
	However, we do not believe it would be appropriate to refer customers in receipt of incapacity benefit to the Work Programme until we have carried out a work capability assessment to properly establish their support needs.

Employment: Ex-servicemen

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to issue guidance to local councils on assistance for veterans to enter employment.

Chris Grayling: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has no plans to issue guidance to local councils on assistance for veterans to enter employment.
	Jobcentre Plus has armed forces champions in every Jobcentre Plus district who liaise with local authority forces champions and other local stakeholders on employment related issues.

Housing Benefit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average eligible rent for claimants of housing benefit  (a) in receipt of passport benefit,  (b) not in receipt of passport benefit,  (c) of working age,  (d) of pension age,  (e) in a regulated private tenancy and  (f) in a deregulated private sector tenancy and (i) claiming and (ii) not claiming local housing allowance was in (A) April 2007 and (B) November 2008.

Steve Webb: Information is not available on amounts of weekly eligible rents for November 2008.
	The Department does collect information on weekly eligible rents from the housing benefit/council tax benefit data Source (SHBE) but to assess the completeness of recording and quality assure the figures to answer this PQ would incur a disproportionate cost.
	Housing benefit caseload and average weekly amounts are available at local authority area level and these are published on the Department's website at:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=hbctb
	The information we have as at May 2007 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Average weekly amounts of eligible rents, Great Britain, May 2007 
			   £ 
			 Average weekly eligible rent for working age claimants 83.44 
			 Average weekly eligible rent for Elderly claimants 65.62 
			 Average weekly eligible rent for private regulated tenants 69.32 
			 Average weekly eligible rent for private deregulated tenants 103.13 
			 Average weekly eligible rent for local housing allowance tenants n/a 
			 Average weekly eligible rent for claimants receiving a passported benefit 75.65 
			 Average weekly eligible rent for claimants not receiving a passported benefit 80.01 
			  Source: Housing benefit and council tax benefit management information system quarterly 100% data taken in February, May, August and November.

Marginal Deductions

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the average marginal deduction rate for each decile of the population  (a) in 2010-11 and  (b) following the implementation of the proposed universal credit under the assumptions contained in the White Paper on welfare reform.

Chris Grayling: Presenting average marginal deduction rates by income decile is potentially misleading as it groups together many different family types, with differing circumstances and treatment under the tax and benefit system, into specific groups.
	As such, this Government have followed the same approach as the previous Administration in setting out the number of families that face high marginal deduction rates by marginal deduction rate bands, and would view this as providing a clearer picture of the impacts of the tax and benefit system on families than presenting averages by decile. Details of estimates in 2010-11 and 2011-12 can be found in Table A3 in Annex A of the June Budget. Additionally, in the White Paper 'Universal Credit: Welfare That Works', estimates have been provided under the universal credit system. Refer to Table 1 and Table 2 on pages 54 and 55 for further details.

Marginal Deductions

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of individuals who will have marginal deduction rates of  (a) 61 to 70 per cent.,  (b) 71 to 80 per cent.,  (c) 81 to 90 per cent. and  (d) 91 to 100 per cent. in each of the next five years.

Chris Grayling: The Government's recent White Paper, 'Universal Credit: Welfare That Works', shows marginal deduction rates for people in receipt of income-related benefits, tax credits or universal credit, separating earners above and below the tax and national insurance threshold.
	
		
			  Earning below the tax threshold 
			  Million 
			  Marginal deduction rate for non-taxpaying earners in receipt of IRBs/TCs or universal credit  Current system  Universal credit  Difference 
			 Up to 60% 0.3 0.1 -0.3 
			 60% to 70% 0.0 0.5 0.5 
			 70% to 80% 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 80% to 90% 0.1 0.0 -0.1 
			 Over 90% 0.1 0.0 -0.1 
		
	
	
		
			  Earning above the tax threshold 
			  Million 
			  Marginal deduction rate for taxpaying earners in receipt or IRBs/TCs or universal credit  Current system  Universal credit  Difference 
			 Up to 60% 0.9 0.8 0.0 
			 60% to 70% 0.2 0.4 0.2 
			 70% to 80% 1.7 2.0 0.3 
			 80% to 90% 0.4 0.0 -0.4 
			 Over 90% 0.1 (1)- -0.1 
			 (1) Denotes fewer than 50,000 people; figures may not sum due to rounding. 
		
	
	If we consider all working-age individuals, rather than just those on income-related benefits and tax credits or the universal credit, then we estimate that one million households will face a marginal deduction rate of 61% to 70% and two million will face a marginal deduction rate of 71% to 80% under universal credit.
	It is important to note, as set out in the spending review, that presenting analysis far into the future may not be representative of the impact of future Government policy, and would not, for example, take into account the aim to increase the personal allowance to £10,000-a reform which will tend to reduce marginal deduction rates for lower earners.
	After the introduction of the universal credit there will be a number of years of transition as existing cases migrate to the new system and as such it is not possible to produce estimates of the marginal deduction rates during this transition period.
	Estimating marginal deduction rates within the current tax and benefit system is the responsibility of HM Treasury and it would incur a disproportionate cost to provide marginal deduction rates for all individuals for the intervening years between now and the introduction of the universal credit in 2013. However, Table A3 in Annex A of the June Budget set out the Government's estimates of marginal deduction rates in 2010-11 and 2011-12 following the implementation of June Budget measures. This is for working heads of families who are in receipt of income-related benefits or tax credits, where at least one person works 16 hours or more a week, and the head of the family is not receiving pensioner or disability premiums.

Nanotechnology: Safety

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps the Health and Safety Executive is taking to reduce the health risk to the public from nano-silver in consumer hygiene products.

Chris Grayling: Presently HSE has no specific activities on nano-silver in consumer hygiene products. Such disinfectants are not subject to the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986, and do not have to be authorised under national legislation implementing the Biocidal Products Directive (98/8/EC) pending completion of an EU review of the active substances in such products. Sweden is rapporteur for the nano-silver reviews, and is due to report its findings to the Commission and other member states on 31 March 2011.
	Presently such disinfectants are subject to the Consumer Protection Act 1987, which is administered by BIS and enforced by trading standards officers. Such products may also be subject the Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 2009 and to EC Regulation 1272/2008 on classification labelling and packaging which, for consumer products, are also enforced by trading standards officers.
	There is no general ban on nano-silver products under the Biocidal Products Directive. However, EU legislation on biocides required industry to indicate which active substances they wished to support through the review. Where active substances have not been supported for specific uses, products containing these active substances should have been removed from the market. Removal in these circumstances is most likely to reflect commercial decisions and not health and safety concerns. Where HSE has been made aware that specific products may be unlawfully on the market it has taken action, usually by alerting trading standards officers.

Pension: Reform

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to combine the replacement SERPs scheme with the graduated pension payment scheme to create a single pension scheme; what assessment he has made of the effects of implementation of his proposals on pension reform on women who do not have a full record of national insurance contributions at the point of their retirement; what plans he has for the future of means-testing on pension entitlements; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: The Government are currently considering a number of options for simplifying the state pension system but final decisions have not yet been made.

Social Security Benefits

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to simplify the processes involved in applying for benefits; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: Universal credit will replace working tax credit, child tax credit, housing benefit, income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance and income-related employment and support allowance. By using the best data technology available, we will streamline the system to improve efficiency, reduce administration costs and minimise the opportunities for fraud and errors at the same time. This will make it easier for people to see they will be consistently and transparently better off for each hour they work.

Social Security Benefits: Ex-servicemen

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of his Department's budget is allocated to programmes for veterans.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is as follows.
	While the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any bespoke programmes in place for veterans, a number of flexibilities that specifically favour veterans are available. For example, where appropriate, ex-armed forces and spouses of serving armed forces personnel are given early access to employment programmes.
	Jobcentre Plus has also appointed a named armed forces champion in every Jobcentre Plus district. These champions liaise with local regular and reservist units, providing employment and training advice and guidance for both forces.
	It is not possible to say what proportion of the department's budget is spent on veterans, as this information is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has accrued to the Exchequer in recouped benefit payments after convictions for benefit fraud in each of the last five years.

Chris Grayling: We are not able to provide data on how much money has been recovered from people that have been convicted of benefit fraud as they are not classified as a distinct category in our debt recovery systems.
	The Department published a new fraud and error strategy on 18 October 2010. The strategy sets out the Department's plans for improving the effectiveness of the current recoveries system which include increasing by around 25% the rate at which we recover fraud debts by deduction from benefit, introduction of powers to deduct money directly from an employee's earnings and in the most serious cases seeking court orders to seize a person's assets or force them to sell their houses to repay their fraud debt.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria he plans to use to determine whether benefit claimants have deliberately not informed the relevant agency of a change in circumstances.

Chris Grayling: Where a customer deliberately does not inform the Department of a reportable change in circumstance this would constitute benefit fraud. The Fraud Investigation Service investigate cases thoroughly, and an admission of fraud or proof beyond reasonable doubt are the criteria used to determine whether fraud has been committed.
	In cases where there is no fraudulent intent on behalf of the customer and a change in circumstance went unreported as a genuine mistake, the case would be referred to customer compliance.
	The Department takes fraud very seriously and has recently published a new joint strategy with HMRC for tackling welfare fraud and error. This sets out a strong sanctions regime to punish those who are caught of committing benefit fraud and includes a new civil penalty for genuine mistakes.

Social Security Benefits: Illegal Immigrants

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of his Department's expenditure on welfare payments to illegal immigrants in the last 12 months.

Chris Grayling: No such estimate has been made.

Welfare State

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he plans to take to increase efficiency within the administration of the benefits system; whether he has considered the merits of gathering customer feedback to inform decision-making on efficiency measures; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: We are creating a new universal credit which will replace working tax credit, child tax credit, housing benefit, income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance and income-related employment and support allowance. The new benefit will transform service standards in welfare systems leading to a significant reduction in administration costs and better value for money for the taxpayer.
	We intend to seek the views of current benefit and tax credit recipients at various stages in the development of the new service.

Work Capability Assessment Programme

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what mechanism he plans to put in place to measure work incentives under the new work capability assessment programme.

Chris Grayling: The work capability assessment is an objective medical assessment of someone's functional capability for work and is used to determine entitlement to employment and support allowance. It assesses an individual's capability for work by looking at their ability to carry out a range of physical and mental, cognitive and intellectual functions, and looks at how these are affected by a health condition or disability.
	By accurately assessing someone's capability for work, we can better identify the right support to help them return to suitable work or prepare for a return to work, where possible. However, the WCA in isolation is not designed to incentivise work.

DEFENCE

Aircraft Carriers

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the data used to determine that the aircraft carrier contract was more expensive to cancel than it was to complete.

Liam Fox: holding answer 3 December 2010
	The Government's decision on the carrier programme was based on an assessment of a number of options and their financial, capability and industrial implications. This covered, among other things, our financial liabilities under relevant contracts and industrial agreements, including the so-called "Yellow Book". The Government have already published advice received from BAE Systems and will shortly be releasing redacted copies of the contract for the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carrier Project and the BAE Systems Surface Ships Terms of Business Agreement for consideration by the Public Accounts Committee.

Armed Forces Covenant Task Force

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to publish the report of the Armed Forces Covenant Task Force.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 3 December 2010
	The independent Armed Forces Covenant Taskforce report, produced by Professor Hew Strachan, has been published today.

Armed Forces: Drugs

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether soldiers in the Army have their urine samples tested for mephedrone.

Andrew Robathan: The Army drug testing programme does not currently include a specific bulk test for mephedrone. However, the programme of tests does detect a number of substances, some of which may include variants of mephedrone or its component parts. In addition to the Army drug testing programme, the Army has taken proactive measures to ensure that the dangers of mephedrone are addressed through a programme of education.

Armed Forces: Mental Health Services

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding his Department plans to allocate to  (a) long-term care and  (b) mental health care for veterans in addition to funding announced prior to the comprehensive spending review in each year of the spending review period.

Andrew Robathan: The NHS is responsible for funding health care for veterans.
	The Ministry of Defence is working closely with the Department of Health to implement the recommendations of the report into mental health care for serving personnel and veterans by the hon. Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison).

Armed Forces: Pensions

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will assess the potential effects of changing the inflation measure used to up-rate pensions from the retail price index to the consumer price index on the pension of a private aged 20 years who has suffered injuries and has received compensation at the top level of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme in each of the next five years.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 6 December 2010
	No assessment can be made as the retail price index and consumer price index rates are not known.

Combined Cadet Force

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on cadet force activities in each year from 2001-02 to 2009-10.

Andrew Robathan: Figures relating to expenditure on cadet force activities are held centrally only for the years 2007-08 and 2009-10. This amounts to £141 million and £146 million respectively. Information relating to the other years could be obtained only by conducting a manual search of records on multiple sites thus incurring a disproportionate cost.

Defence: Procurement

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has estimated how much it plans to spend with UK suppliers in each year to 2014-15.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence has estimated that we will spend around £50 billion on equipment and support over the next four years.

Departmental Art Works

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his most recent estimate in of the annual cost to the public purse of insurance for the fine art and antiques held on his Department's estates.

Andrew Robathan: In common with other Defence fixed assets, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) art collection is not insured. The risk of damage or loss is accepted by the Government. Neither are further insurance policies covering fine art or antiques owned by MOD arranged centrally. Other non-departmental art collections may be held on Defence estates by messes, regiments or other groups; these are not owned by the MOD and insurance arrangements are the responsibility of the owners.

Departmental Finance

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on  (a) recruitment materials  (b) schools visits and  (c) other outreach programmes for people under the age of 18 years in each financial year from 2001-02 and 2009-10.

Andrew Robathan: We do not account separately in our recruitment effort for those under the age of 18 years. However, we have been able to identify some costs incurred by the Army for the year 2006 onwards. Data in respect of the other two services are not held in the form requested and could be obtained only through a search of records and invoices that would incur a disproportionate cost.
	The following table lists expenditure relating to recruitment materials, school visits and other outreach programmes conducted by the Army since 1 April 2006:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Recruitment materials  School visits  Other outreach programmes 
			 2006-07 1,942,000 n/a 301,000 
			 2007-08 2,058,000 237,000 670,000 
			 2008-09 1,361,000 191,000 758,000 
			 2009-10 2,615,000 155,000 698,000 
			 n/a = Not available  Note: All figures rounded to the nearest £000.

Departmental Sponsorship

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what expenditure  (a) his Department and  (b) its non-departmental public bodies incurred on sponsorship in each year since 1997 for which figures are available.

Andrew Robathan: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate costs. The main sponsorship activities that are covered by the Ministry of Defence are sports and educational outreach.

Ex-servicemen: Radiation Exposure

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason his Department has not compensated nuclear test veterans for the adverse effects on their health arising from their participation in nuclear tests.

Andrew Robathan: Well-documented formal procedures were in place to ensure the health and safety of those participating in the tests. The majority of nuclear test veterans (NTVs) received little or no additional radiation exposure as a result of participation. We believe there is no evidence of excess illness or mortality among NTVs which can be linked to their participation in the tests or their exposure to radiation as a result of that participation, with the exception of certain leukaemias.
	Compensation in the form of a war pension is available to all former members of HM armed forces who suffer disablement which is attributable to service prior to 6 April 2005 including nuclear test veterans. The scheme also makes provision for the widows and widowers of service and ex-service personnel whose death is attributable to service in the form of a war widows/widowers pension. Individuals can and do appeal to an independent appeals tribunal if they are unhappy with a particular decision.

Ex-servicemen: Radiation Exposure

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department has taken to comply with the direction of the War Pensions Tribunal to disclose all documents relating to nuclear test veterans' exposure to ionising radiation by 30 November 2010; and what progress it has made in complying with the direction of the Tribunal to  (a) search for and  (b) disclose all documents relevant to nuclear test veteran compensation claims by that date.

Andrew Robathan: There have been an unusually high number of complex requests for classified information and documents in the current group of war pensions appeals cases. The Ministry of Defence continues to work closely with the War Pensions Tribunal to find proportionate and cost-effective ways of ensuring that all relevant documents are disclosed and to meet the timescales set out in the judge's latest set of directions. Special security arrangements have been agreed with the tribunal to ensure appropriate handling of any highly classified documents.

Ex-servicemen: Radiation Exposure

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will review his Department's policy on causal links between exposure to radiation during nuclear testing it carried out in the 1950s and the onset of cancer and other illnesses in test veterans against policies on similar circumstances adopted by his international counterparts.

Andrew Robathan: There are no plans to review the policy on causal links. The Ministry of Defence policy on causal links between exposure to radiation during the UK atmospheric nuclear tests and the onset of cancer and other illnesses is in line with generally accepted contemporary scientific and medical understanding based on the published peer-reviewed international literature. The policy requires ongoing routine scrutiny of the literature to detect and as appropriate reflect new and emerging evidence.

Ex-servicemen: Radiation Exposure

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what benchmarking assessment his Department has made of the provisions for nuclear test veteran compensation under the US Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.  [Official Report, 18 January 2011, Vol. 521, c. 7MC.]

Andrew Robathan: No benchmarking has taken place.
	In the United Kingdom evidence was provided in the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) reports of the three follow-up studies on the health of over 20,000 nuclear test participants and a matched group of military controls. For the United States atomic veterans no comparable large scale epidemiological US study was carried out.
	The Ministry of Defence also provides pensions automatically to nuclear test veterans who have one of a list of 22 cancers presumed to be causally linked to service. For other cancers, claims may be accepted on the basis of calculated radiation exposure assessment. In the US, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) will pay a one time lump sum of 75,000 US dollars for cancers on their own list.

Ex-servicemen: Radiation Exposure

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many medical records of nuclear test veterans his Department have identified for further post mortem research.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence has not identified any medical records of nuclear test veterans for further post mortem research.

Ex-servicemen: Radiation Exposure

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of his action at the War Pensions Tribunal in respect of nuclear test veterans; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: To date the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has been notified of bills totalling some £150,000 (including VAT) for work associated with defending the civil action.
	This figure does not include the cost of any associated MOD staff effort.
	It is difficult to estimate future costs at this stage for the current group of war pensions appeals as these are dependent on the case put forward by the appellants and the judge's future directions.
	We remain keen to work with the tribunal and appellants with a view to ensuring that costs relating to all war pensions appeals are proportionate and kept to a minimum.

Korea: Politics and Government

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has had recent discussions with the US administration on its operations in the Korean peninsula.

Liam Fox: The Secretary of State for Defence has not had direct contact with the US Administration on this issue, but Ministry of Defence and Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials maintain strong contacts with our US and Republic of Korea (ROK) allies and regularly discuss regional issues, including the recent exchange of artillery fire between North Korea and ROK.

Military Aircraft

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) BAe 146 and  (b) BAe 125 aircraft were sold by his Department in each year since 2003; and how much revenue was raised from each sale.

Andrew Robathan: No BAe 146 aircraft have been sold by the Ministry of Defence since 2003. Five BAe 125 aircraft were sold in 2007 for a total of just under £30,000.

Morocco: Military Exercises

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what occasions UK and Moroccan defence agencies have participated in joint exercises  (a) bilaterally and  (b) as members of collective security organisations since 1997.

Andrew Robathan: The UK undertakes modest, but important annual bilateral defence activity with Morocco. Our bi-lateral joint exercises since 1997 to date have been as follows:
	Ex Jebel Saharah: a very successful bilateral ground and airmobile annual exercise which is run in the Marrakech region has now been run 10 times since its inception in 2000.
	Ex Jebel Tarik: Morocco has contributed service personnel to this annual bilateral deployment of two companies (up to 180 personnel) of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment (RG) to the UK, on seven occasions since 2003.
	Ex Desert Vortex: a one-off bilateral helicopter exercise which was run between 16 May and 30 June 2009. This was a UK training exercise with objectives set by Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) and run concurrently with Moroccan Air Force annual helicopter crew training.
	The UK and Moroccan Defence agencies have not participated in any joint exercises as members of collective security organisations since 1997.
	HMS Northumberland was due to take part in the NATO Standing Naval Maritime Group 1 (SNMG l) staging in Casablanca in September 2010. Unfortunately, UK participation did not materialize as HMS Northumberland had to be re-tasked and did not visit Morocco.

NATO

Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contribution the UK made to the US and Estonian Joint NATO exercise in October 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Gerald Howarth: There were no US and Estonian joint NATO exercises in this period. I assume the hon. Member refers to the non-NATO exercise Sabre Strike which took place in Latvia from 18 to 31 October 2010. Members of the armed forces from the US, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania took part. The UK made no contribution.

Nimrod Aircraft

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what account he took of the increased capacity of the Nimrod MRA4 in determining the future size of the Nimrod fleet; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: The strategic defence and security review took account of the Nimrod MRA4's range of capabilities. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 450-51W, to the hon. Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Mr McCann), the right hon. Member for Coventry North East (Mr Ainsworth) and the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones).

Trident Value for Money Review

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the Trident value for money review.

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the Trident replacement value for money review.

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  on what date he expects to present to Parliament the full results of the Trident value for money report;
	(2)  if he will ensure that Parliament is given the opportunity to review the Trident value for money report and the strategic defence and security review before any contracts for the Future Submarine programme are placed.

Liam Fox: holding answer  3  November 2010
	 The value for money review's outcomes were published as part of the strategic defence and security review.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Finance

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the amount of funding from the public purse received by the farming industry from  (a) UK and  (b) EU sources in each year since 1997-98.

James Paice: holding answer 6 December 2010
	The following table shows the funds provided to farmers less levies in £ million. While the majority of funding is from the EU, the precise EU/UK split is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The fact the UK contributes to the EU budget further blurs the line between EU and UK funding sources.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 1997 2,773 
			 1998 2,639 
			 1999 2,684 
			 2000 2,474 
			 2001 2,445 
			 2002 2,665 
			 2003 2,758 
			 2004 2,945 
			 2005 3,030 
			 2006 3,028 
			 2007 3,015 
			 2008 3,293 
			 2009 3,644 
			  Source: Agriculture in the United Kingdom

Angling

Marcus Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of progress in the  (a) protection and  (b) improvement of coarse and non-migratory trout fisheries.

Richard Benyon: Course and non-migratory trout fisheries are protected under various legislative measures. Under the Environment Act 1995, the Environment Agency (EA) has a statutory duty to "maintain, improve and develop fisheries for salmon, trout, eels, lampreys, smelt and freshwater fish". In addition there are UK obligations under the European habitats directive that covers several freshwater species and habitats. Continued and effective management of fisheries is essential to defining and achieving "good ecological status" as required in the water framework directive.
	In general the status of non-migratory freshwater fish stocks is encouraging. Coarse fish numbers are increasing and are a big improvement on two decades ago, when many rivers were heavily polluted, with fish communities restricted in distribution and numbers. Many non-migratory trout are caught in put-and-take fisheries on still waters, and improvements to these depend largely upon local stocking policies. Wild non-migratory brown trout are the same species as migratory brown trout and the juveniles cannot be distinguished, and so it is not possible to assess their status independently.
	Regular monitoring is undertaken to help identify where improvements to fish populations are required and where additional protection is needed to prevent them from deteriorating.

Animal Welfare: Inspections

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many welfare inspections by Animal Health were carried out on rabbit farms in 2009; and what level of compliance with animal welfare legislation and the welfare code was recorded as a result of such inspections.

James Paice: Animal Health does not conduct routine welfare inspections of rabbit farms as there is no specific requirement to register rabbit farms with Animal Health or the Rural Payments Agency. However, Animal Health will conduct a welfare inspection if they receive a complaint or allegation about poor welfare and when a targeted, or follow up visit is required. In 2009 Animal Health recorded three incidences where the level of compliance with animal welfare legislation resulted in a failure.

Badgers: Bovine Tuberculosis

Gordon Birtwistle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what tests her Department carries out to ensure that badgers culled to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis carry the virus.

James Paice: We are currently consulting on a proposal for badger control to tackle bovine TB. The consultation period ends on 8 December. No decisions have yet been taken.
	In theory, the ideal culling strategy would be selective, i.e. only infected badgers would be culled. However, no diagnostic test is both sufficiently sensitive and suitable for use in the field, so a policy of selective culling is not currently being pursued.
	Given the extent of evidence already available on the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis in the badger population, we do not propose in the current consultation to post mortem culled badgers to check whether individual badgers were infected with  Mycobacterium bovis.

Badgers: Disease Control

Gordon Birtwistle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she plans to take to reduce the number of badger culls.

James Paice: We are currently consulting on a proposal for badger control to tackle bovine TB. The consultation period ends on 8 December. No decisions have yet been taken.
	As stated in the consultation document, we would not want to see culling for longer than is necessary and would intend to review how the policy is working after four years.

Common Fisheries Policy

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the scope for devolution of powers under the review of the common fisheries policy.

Richard Benyon: We will continue to call for genuine, radical reform of the common fisheries policy, to overcome its current serious structural failings. This means replacing ineffective, centralised micro-management with simplified and de-centralised decision making, enabling those closest to fisheries to plan for the long term, and allowing fishermen to take responsibility for prosperous and sustainable fishing operations.

Common Fisheries Policy

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress has been made on the review of the common fisheries policy.

Richard Benyon: The EU Commission's 2009 Green Paper provides a compelling case for fundamental reform of the current common fisheries policy; changes that simplify and decentralise fisheries management, enabling those closest to fisheries to plan for the long-term, and giving fishermen greater incentive to fish sustainably. We expect the Commission to publish draft proposals next spring.
	We are working with other member states, and interested parties, to build support for genuine, radical reform ahead of negotiations next year.

Departmental Conferences

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken since her appointment to reduce expenditure on conferences from budgets within her responsibility.

Richard Benyon: In response to the arrangements for advertising and marketing put in place by the Government, my Department has established an internal panel to consider all proposals for expenditure arising from communication activity.
	As a result of the panel's work, planned expenditure on all elements of communication has been substantially reduced.
	Approval has been given to expenditure on seven conferences. Five were approved following reduction in costs requested by the panel. Two were accepted by the panel without change. The total cost of the seven conferences was £34,285.

Departmental Manpower

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many agency workers her Department and its agencies employ at each pay grade.

Richard Benyon: In line with Government policy, this Department and its executive agencies have and will continue to reduce the number of temporary agency staff used. Central records on numbers in the core Department and executive agencies will vary daily as reductions are implemented.
	Manual processes have been introduced in the core Department to record the number of non-permanent staff deployed at the end of each month and at the end of October 2010, there were 145. These processes will be moving to quarterly from December 2010. This number includes temporary staff, contractors, interims and some specialist consultants. The pay grade is not yet recorded in all records. Introduction of similar processes in executive agencies is being reviewed.

Fisheries: Jobseeker's Allowance

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on future provision for fishermen in any revisions to rules governing jobseeker's allowance.

Richard Benyon: No discussions have been had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith) on future provision for fishermen in any revisions to rules governing jobseeker's allowance.

Flood Control: Local Government

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 24 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 39-40WS, on the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy (England), what discussions her Department is having with local government representatives to discuss the funding of new burdens placed on councils under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010;
	(2)  what steps the Government is taking to ensure that new burdens placed on councils under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 are fully funded;
	(3)  what progress has been made by the DEFRA/LGA Joint Legislative Implementation Panel on identifying and resolving the concerns of local authorities in relation to funding for the requirements placed on them under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010;
	(4)  what requirements have been placed on local authorities under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010; and what steps the Government is taking to ensure that such requirements are cost neutral for local councils.

Richard Benyon: We remain committed to fully funding new local authority burdens under the Flood and Water Management Act, and to ensuring a fair outcome for both local authorities and the taxpayer. £36 million a year will be provided directly to lead local flood authorities (£21 million in 2011-12 due to phasing-in) through area based grant. The Government have set up a joint implementation review panel with the Local Government Association. This independently chaired panel meets regularly and recently commissioned a survey of local authority preparations for implementation of the Act.

Forestry: Grants

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has assessed the merits of making grants to ensure that privately-owned forests and natures reserves are managed appropriately to maintain their benefits to the public.

James Paice: holding answer 6 December 2010
	The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) runs from 2007-13 and is designed to support agri-environment and other land management schemes. We are currently undertaking a Mid Term Evaluation that includes an assessment of the effectiveness of the funding which is made available to forestry owners and other land managers to encourage management practices that deliver public benefits. We will publish the Mid Term Evaluation of the RDPE in the new year.
	Payments are currently made to private owners of national nature reserves in two main ways: through statutory agreements on the land between Natural England and the landowner; and/or through an Environmental Stewardship agreement.
	Landowners receiving funding support under either of these approaches must agree to undertake specific actions that will deliver the agreed public benefits such as: community engagement, access, education, and research as well as nature conservation. These benefits go over and beyond statutory requirements or cross-compliance with wider schemes such as the Single Farm Payment. The required actions are set out in a management plan or agreement for the land. The provision of payments is subject to compliance with this plan or agreement.
	Quantification of these widespread merits is difficult. However, we have commissioned a study, which we expect to report in the new year, to estimate the benefits to society of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (which include national nature reserves); quantifying them where possible.

Hemp

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had on the promotion of hemp crop trials.

James Paice: I have not been involved in any discussions on the promotion of hemp crop trials. Nevertheless, I do wish to see hemp cultivation expand in the UK, capturing the environmental and sustainability benefits the crop can provide and keeping the UK at the forefront of the development of new, high-value end uses for the crop.

Hydrofluorocarbons

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her most recent estimate is of the contribution which will have been made to global warming by hydrofluorocarbons previously used as refrigerants by 2050.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 6 December 2010
	A study undertaken by AEA Technology on behalf of DEFRA and the Department for Energy and Climate Change considers the use and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons in the UK in all sectors where emissions occur. This study revalidates and updates historic consumption, and provides an estimate of emissions through to 2050. The report is available from the DEFRA website at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/quality/air/fgas/background.htm#publications

Incinerators

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for incineration as part of her waste management policy.

Richard Benyon: The Government's approach to waste management is underpinned by the waste hierarchy, which ranks waste management methods in order of environmental preference. For waste that cannot be prevented, re-used or recycled, recovery of energy is a preferable alternative, and recovering energy from waste is almost always preferable to landfill (unless analysis of the overall environmental impact for specific types of waste shows otherwise).
	The waste hierarchy will shortly become law through the revised Waste Framework Directive, which seeks to promote waste prevention, increase recycling, and ensure better use of resources, while protecting human health and the environment. Recovery of energy from waste, including but not limited to incineration, has a role to play in managing waste according to the hierarchy.
	A full review of waste policy is currently being carried out, with initial findings due in spring 2011. The role of recovering energy from waste, including incineration, will be considered as part of the review.

Marine Scotland

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Scottish Executive on issues relating to the ownership and burdens of roads 12, 18 and 19 in the Almondbank complex consequent on the proposed closure of Marine Scotland: Science in March 2011.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA and Scottish Government officials met on 26 November 2010 to discuss the legal title of the roadways serving Scottish Executive's retained land. Discussions are ongoing and Scottish Executive colleagues are continuing to consult their legal advisers on the legal title.

Military Bases: USA

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the potential health risks arising from the consumption of food products that do not conform to EU regulations on US military bases in the UK.

Anne Milton: I have been asked to reply.
	In terms of food safety and food hygiene the United States conforms to high standards, and US requirements are broadly comparable with European Union food regulations. Food imported from the US for consumption at US military bases is subject to EU border controls, and the perceived risk to human health, from consumption at military bases or in the wider community, is judged to be negligible. For that reason an assessment of the health risks has not been conducted.

Military Bases: USA

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will assess the risks to public health from the provision of US military food supplies via warehouses  (a) in the UK and  (b) in Germany.

Anne Milton: I have been asked to reply.
	Where consignments originating from the United States are destined for NATO or US bases different procedures apply depending on the location of the warehouse of destination.
	If the warehouse of destination is not on the NATO or US base but on European Union/European Economic Area territory (which is the case for all bases in the United Kingdom), the consignment is treated the same as any other import to the EU. It must undergo veterinary checks at a border inspection post (BIP) to ensure that it meets all of the required animal and public health import conditions before it is released to its destination.
	If the warehouse is located inside a NATO or US base in the EU (as may be the case in Germany), the consignment should be treated as a consignment in transit and must fulfil animal health requirements, including checks that it is accompanied by the appropriate animal health certification. The BIP will carry out a documentary and identity check, and transmit the relevant information to the competent authority responsible for the warehouse (the designated exit point from the EU). Subsequently the competent authority will confirm arrival of the consignment, which is not permitted to enter free circulation within the EU.
	In addition, the US authorities publicise information on the rules for personal imports, of products of animal origin and plant and plant products, which may be posted to US personnel.

Office of Water Services

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost to the public purse of Ofwat has been in each year since its inception.

Richard Benyon: Ofwat's expenditure requirements are covered by licence fees recovered from the companies it regulates. There is no cost to the public purse.
	Ofwat's resource accounts are published at:
	http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/aboutofwat/reports/resourceaccounts

Recycling: Business

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans her Department has to encourage businesses to recycle their waste.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA has recently published interim results from a survey of commercial and industrial waste in England, which indicate that the current rate of re-use and recycling of business waste is 58%, compared to 43% in the equivalent 2002 survey. These data sets are interim estimates and are subject to change. The final survey results are planned to be published on Thursday 16 December.
	The Government are carrying out a review of waste policies in England, due to be completed in spring 2011, and that review is looking at ways of encouraging further improvements in waste prevention and recycling by businesses, including SMEs, for example by exploring voluntary responsibility deals with particular business sectors.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

European Arrest Warrant: Dr Daniel Ubani

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Attorney-General whether  (a) the Crown Prosecution Service,  (b) Cambridgeshire constabulary and  (c) any other Government Department notified the German authorities of an intention to serve a European arrest warrant in respect of Dr Daniel Ubani prior to 12 March 2010.

Edward Garnier: The Attorney-General is only responsible for the actions of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). There was no communication by the CPS with the German authorities, in advance of 12 March 2009, regarding an intention to submit a European arrest warrant. The CPS have no record of any contacts made in this matter by other public bodies.

European Arrest Warrant: Dr Daniel Ubani

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 25 October 2010,  Official Report, column 64W, on European arrest warrant: Dr Daniel Ubani, whether the European arrest warrant received by the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) on 9 March 2009 was  (a) sent to or  (b) drawn to the attention of the German authorities by (i) the Crown Prosecution Service, (ii) SOCA, (iii) another Government Department and (iv) any other organisation or individual.

Edward Garnier: The Attorney-General is only responsible for the actions of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). There was no communication by the CPS with the German authorities regarding the European arrest warrant (EAW) dated 9 March 2009. The CPS have no record of any communication made with the German authorities in this matter by other public bodies, organisations or individuals.

European Arrest Warrant: Dr Daniel Ubani

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 1 November 2010,  Official Report, column 498W, on Daniel Ubani, if he will place in the Library a copy of the German prosecutor's document which suggests that legal proceedings were initiated against Dr Ubani on 12 March 2009.

Edward Garnier: The document referred to by the hon. Member is an official document from the German prosecutor to the German court. Given this, the German prosecutor's office would need to be consulted about the placing of the document in the Library. The CPS will contact the German prosecutor on this point.

Timber

William Bain: To ask the Attorney-General what assessment he has made of the compliance of  (a) the Law Officers' Departments and  (b) their agency with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's criteria for sourcing sustainable timber.

Edward Garnier: The Law Officers Departments are committed to contracting suppliers through the Office of Government Commerce Buying Solutions Framework and endeavour to ensure that wherever possible products are procured from sustainable sources in line with the UK Government's Timber Policy.

JUSTICE

Civil Proceedings: Legal Costs

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which proposals in the Civil Litigation Funding Green Paper require primary legislation to be implemented.

Jonathan Djanogly: As stated in the consultation paper 'Proposals for Reform of Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales-Implementation of Lord Justice Jackson's Recommendations', published on 15 November 2010, a number of the leading recommendations, particularly for reform of the conditional fee agreement regime and wider availability of damages-based agreements, would require primary legislation to be implemented. The primary legislation required will depend on the outcome of the consultation, and the Government will set out the legislation required in due course.

Discharge Grant: Uprating

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward proposals to increase the discharge grant by the rate of inflation each year.

Crispin Blunt: There are currently no proposals to increase the discharge grant issued to prisoners on release from prison.
	The provision of a lump sum discharge grant is not a very satisfactory way of meeting prisoners' immediate financial needs on release. The National Offender Management Service is working with the Department for Work and Pensions to identify the best way to address the prisoner finance gap.

Domestic Violence

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people of each sex were  (a) prosecuted and  (b) convicted for domestic abuse offences in (i) Lincolnshire and (ii) England and Wales in (A) 2008-09 and (B) 2009-10.

Crispin Blunt: Information collated centrally by the Ministry of Justice holds details on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. It does not include the circumstances of each case or hold specific information on offences beyond descriptions provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought. It is not possible to separately identify domestic violence offences from other offences of assault and violence against the person.
	However, the Crown Prosecution Service has provided data relating to the number of persons proceeded against and found guilty in Lincolnshire and England and Wales for the prescribed periods. This information is as follows.
	
		
			  Crown Prosecution Service-defendants prosecuted for domestic violence crimes 
			  (i) Table 1: CPS Lincolnshire 
			   2008-09  2009-10 
			   Convictions  Unsuccessful   Convictions  Unsuccessful  
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Total prosecutions  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Total prosecutions 
			 Female 25 67.6 12 32.4 37 28 84.8 5 15.2 33 
			 Male 434 76.8 131 23.2 565 383 77.8 109 22.2 492 
			 Unknown 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 
			 Total defendants 459 76.2 143 23.8 602 411 78.3 114 21.7 525 
		
	
	
		
			  (ii) Table 2: England and Wales 
			   2008-09  2009-10 
			   Convictions  Unsuccessful   Convictions  Unsuccessful  
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Total prosecutions  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Total prosecutions 
			 Female 2,968 69.6 1,298 30.4 4,266 3,494 68.8 1,588 31.2 5,082 
			 Male 45,484 72.4 17,321 27.6 62,805 49,843 72.2 19,176 27.8 69,019 
			 Unknown 13 56.5 10 43.5 23 10 83.3 2 16.7 12 
			 Total defendants 48,465 72.2 18,629 27.8 67,094 53,347 72.0 20,766 28.0 74,113

Land Registry

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the potential savings to the public purse of the reconstitution of the Land Registry in each of the next five years.

Jonathan Djanogly: As a trading fund Her Majesty's Land Registry is a self-funding organisation that is not funded by the public purse.
	On 17 March Land Registry announced the outcome of a consultation on its Accelerated Transformation Programme. The figures published in the decisions report indicate the following savings over the next five years:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2011-12 79 
			 2012-13 80 
			 2013-14 81 
			 2014-15 94 
			 2015-16 86 
		
	
	On 14 October it was announced that the Ministry of Justice would be carrying out a feasibility study into private sector involvement in Land Registry, with a range of options being considered. The outcome of the study will be announced in the new year.

Legal Aid: Asylum

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effects of reductions in the legal aid budget on families seeking asylum; what plans he has to ensure that asylum-seeking families have access to high-quality legal advice early on in the process; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: We propose to continue providing publicly funded legal assistance in asylum cases. We are also working with the UK Border Agency to help improve the quality of asylum decision-making by piloting the provision of legal advice earlier in the asylum process.

Offenders: Employment

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward proposals to require the National Offender Management Service to track employment outcomes for offenders  (a) six months and  (b) one year after release as part of the payment by results system; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: The Department for Work and Pensions is launching a new approach to improving employment outcomes based on payment by results and has, jointly with the MoJ, set out its intention to incentivise Work programme providers to give employment support to unemployed offenders, including those leaving custody. We are exploring what data will be required as part of these plans.

Personal Injury

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many personal injury claims were brought against his Department and its agencies in each of the last three years.

Jonathan Djanogly: The information requested for the last three years is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  MOJ and agencies including NOMS, HMCS, Tribunals and OPG 
			   Number 
			 2007-08 1,224 
			 2008-09 1,593 
			 2009-10 1,394

Personal Injury: Damages

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent representations he has received from the Law Commission on the level of general damages in personal injury claims; and what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of that level.

Jonathan Djanogly: I have not received any recent representations from the Law Commission on the level of general damages in personal injury claims. The assessment of the appropriate level of general damages is a matter for the courts to decide.

Prisoners

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners  (a) of each sex and  (b) in each age group received an indeterminate sentence for public protection in each month between December 2009 and November 2010.

Crispin Blunt: The table shows the reception figures of prisoners on indeterminate sentences for public protection in all prison establishments in England and Wales in each month between December 2009 and June 2010 (latest date for which figures are available).
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			  Receptions of prisoners on indeterminate sentences for public protection, by sex and age group, December 2009 to June 2010 
			 Age group 
			All  15 to 17  18 to 20  21 to 24  25 to 29  30 to 39  40 to 49  50 to 59  60 and over 
			 December 2009 Male 59 0 7 9 7 14 12 7 3 
			  Female 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 
			
			 January 2010 Male 43 1 4 10 9 6 9 3 1 
			  Female 3 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 
			
			 February 2010 Male 39 4 3 6 3 11 11 0 1 
			  Female 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			
			 March 2010 Male 68 0 5 13 17 8 13 11 1 
			  Female 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 
			
			 April 2010 Male 60 2 8 8 5 17 15 4 1 
			  Female 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 
			
			 May 2010 Male 60 3 6 15 8 14 9 4 1 
			  Female 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			
			 June 2010 Male 49 0 4 11 6 16 9 3 0 
			  Female 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Prisoners

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many prisoners serving an indeterminate sentence for public protection on 30 November 2010 were beyond a tariff of  (a) two years or less,  (b) three years of less,  (c) four years or less and  (d) five years or less;
	(2)  how many prisoners  (a) of each sex and  (b) in each age band were serving an indeterminate sentence for public protection on 30 November 2010; and how many had (i) exceeded their tariff and (ii) exceeded their tariff and had not completed an offenders' treatment programme.

Crispin Blunt: On 17 November 2010 there were 6,375 offenders in custody (including those serving their sentence in secure mental hospitals) for an indeterminate sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) or Detention for Public Protection (DPP), of which 3,173 were past tariff (excluding offenders who have been recalled to custody).
	Of the 3,173 offenders whose tariff had expired:
	 (a) 1,432 had a tariff of 730 days or less (approximately two years or less).
	 (b) 2,601 had a tariff of 1,095 days or less (approximately three years or less).
	 (c) 3,080 had a tariff of 1,460 days or less (approximately four years or less).
	 (d) 3,169 had a tariff of 1,825 days or less (approximately five years or less).
	The following table presents a breakdown of the population of IPP and DPP prisoners by gender and age-group. This also excludes 41 where there was no tariff expiry date on the Public Protection Unit Database (PPUD) on the 17 November 2010. Of these, 36 offenders were sentenced in 2010.
	
		
			   Men  Women  Total 
			  Age-group  Total  Past tariff  Total  Past tariff  Total  Past tariff 
			 15-17 40 5 0 0 40 5 
			 18-20 226 60 3 2 229 62 
			 21-24 1,102 559 21 16 1,123 575 
			 25-29 1,384 725 31 25 1,415 750 
			 30-39 1,641 851 63 41 1,704 892 
			 40-49 1,217 558 36 20 1,253 578 
			 50-59 414 204 9 6 423 210 
			 60 and over 186 100 2 1 188 101 
			 Total 6,210 3,062 165 111 6,375 3,173 
		
	
	The figures above were taken from PPUD in the National Offender Management Service, and, as with any large scale recording system, it is subject to possible errors arising from either data entry or processing. PPUD is a live database, updated on a regular basis. As a result, snapshots taken on consecutive days will contain differences reflecting updates.
	On 3 December 2010, there were 498 offenders who were past tariff and had not completed at least one programme, of which 455 were men and 43 were women. It should be noted that some of these offenders had started or started and not completed a programme. An age band (as at 17 November 2010) breakdown is presented in the able below. This information was taken from a database held by the Public Protection and Mental Health Group at the National Offender Management Service.
	
		
			  Current age  Offender without a complete programme 
			 15-17 2 
			 18-20 12 
			 21-24 66 
			 25-29 108 
			 30-39 128 
			 40-49 112 
			 50-59 42 
			 60 and over 28 
			 Total 498

Prisoners

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many prisoners  (a) of each sex and  (b) in each age band serving indeterminate sentences for public protection have been released on licence in each year since 2005;
	(2)  how many prisoners  (a) of each sex and  (b) in each age band serving indeterminate sentences for public protection have been recalled to prison in each year since 2005.

Crispin Blunt: The number of indeterminate sentence Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) or Detention for Public Protection (DPP) offenders released into the community by year of latest release broken down by gender (Table 1) and current age (Table 2) is presented in the following tables. These include offenders that have been recalled to custody but exclude those who have been deported. Please note that both tables exclude five men where the latest release date was not available.
	
		
			  Table 1: Offenders released (latest release) broken down by gender 
			  Year of latest release  Men  Women  Total 
			 2006 3 0 3 
			 2007 7 3 10 
			 2008 31 2 33 
			 2009 53 1 54 
			 2010 80 7 87 
			 Total 174 13 187 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Offenders released (latest release) broken down by age band 
			  Current age  2006  2007  2008  2009  2010  Total 
			 15 to 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 18 to 20 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 21 to 24 1 1 8 10 13 33 
			 25 to 29 1 2 10 14 34 61 
			 30 to 39 0 1 8 17 15 41 
			 40 to 49 0 5 5 10 14 34 
			 50 to 59 0 1 1 1 5 8 
			 60 and over 1 0 1 2 5 9 
			 Total 3 10 33 54 87 187 
		
	
	The number of offenders recalled to prison by year of latest recall broken down by gender (Table 3) and current age (Table 4) is presented in the following tables. For offenders who have been recalled into custody more than once, only the latest recall was considered.
	
		
			  Table 3: Offenders recalled (latest recall) broken down by gender 
			  Year of latest recall  Men  Women  Total 
			 2007 2 0 2 
			 2008 7 0 7 
			 2009 14 2 16 
			 2010 21 1 22 
			 Total 44 3 47 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Offenders recalled (latest recall) broken down by age band 
			  Current age  2007  2008  2009  2010  Total 
			 15 to 20 0 0 0 0 0 
			 21 to 24 0 3 4 1 8 
			 25 to 29 0 2 6 9 17 
			 30 to 39 0 1 4 5 10 
			 40 to 49 1 1 2 4 8 
			 50 to 59 1 0 0 1 2 
			 60 and over 0 0 0 2 2 
			 Total 2 7 16 22 47 
		
	
	The figures above were taken from the Public Protection Unit Database (PPUD) in the National Offender Management Service, and, as with any large scale recording system, it is subject to possible errors arising from either data entry or processing. PPUD is a live database, updated on a regular basis. As a result, snapshots taken on consecutive days will contain differences reflecting updates.

Prisoners: Death

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  whether he has made an estimate of the number of prisoners who committed suicide within six months of their release from prison in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many prisoners  (a) in total and  (b) aged 60 years or over died of natural causes in prison in each of the last five years.

Crispin Blunt: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) systematically records deaths of inmates who are directly in its care. This covers deaths which occur while in direct prison custody or while released on temporary licence for medical reasons. Deaths of those in approved premises are also recorded. NOMS does not collect figures for the number of prisoners who committed suicide after release; that may or may not be under supervision. This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The information requested in question two is displayed in table 1 as follows:
	
		
			  Table 1: Annual totals of natural causes deaths by age: 2005-09( 1) -England and Wales 
			   Apparent natural causes 
			   All age bands  60 and over 
			 2005 88 32 
			 2006 83 34 
			 2007 91 33 
			 2008 99 41 
			 2009 105 45 
			 (1) From the safety in custody statistics 2010: www.justice.gov.uk/publications/safer-custody.htm 
		
	
	NOMS has a broad, integrated and evidence-based prisoner suicide prevention and self harm management strategy that seeks to reduce the distress of all those in prison. This encompasses a wide spectrum of Prison and Department of Health work around such issues as mental health, substance misuse and resettlement. Any prisoner identified as at risk of suicide or self-harm is cared for using the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) procedures.

Prisoners: Older People

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners aged 60 years or older there were in each of the last five years.

Crispin Blunt: The following table provides the information requested on the number of prisoners aged 60 years or over in England and Wales as at 30 June in each year from 2006 to 2010.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2006 1,954 
			 2007 2,213 
			 2008 2,393 
			 2009 2,539 
			 2010 2,849 
			  Note: The data for 2010 are taken from a new source to that used previously and hence are not fully consistent with published data for 2009 or earlier years. However the differences are small-in June 2009 the total prison population was 63 higher in the old source out of a total prison population of just over 85,000. 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisoners: Speech and Language Disorders

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps are taken to identify language and communication difficulties in respect of offenders before their arrival in prison.

Crispin Blunt: Escort staff bringing prisoners to prisons carry a Person Escort Record form, which includes a reference to any communication difficulties the prisoner may have. All prisoners are interviewed on first arrival in prison to assess whether they have any language or other communication difficulties. Any problems identified must be recorded and the information forwarded to other relevant departments within the prison.

Prisons: Alcoholic Drinks

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what consideration he gave to the merits of including in his Department's Business Plan provision for action to address offenders with alcohol problems.

Crispin Blunt: The MoJ has set out proposals for consultation in its Green Paper aimed to improve access to treatment for drug or mental health problems, which should also help those that have linked alcohol related problems. In addition, the Government will look to explore how payment by results might be extended to cover specialist alcohol treatment for offenders.

Prisons: Private Sector

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many former  (a) Prison Service employees,  (b) Prison Service employees at governor grades,  (c) officials in his Department and  (d) National Offender Management Service officials each private sector prison operator employs; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: The National Offender Management Service does not hold centrally information on the numbers of former Prison Service employees (including governor grades), Ministry of Justice employees or National Offender Management Service employees who are employed by private sector prison companies. Staff have the opportunity to complete an exit questionnaire on leaving the National Offender Management Service but this does not record whether or not staff have secured a post with private sector contractors.
	Information obtained from contractors indicates that at least 90 former Prison Service, National Offender Management Service or Ministry of Justice staff currently work in private sector prisons. This figure includes 15 former Prison Service governor grades. However, these figures are the best available and may not be complete.

Remand in Custody: Young People

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of children who were remanded in custody were subsequently  (a) acquitted or  (b) given a community sentence in each of the last five years.

Crispin Blunt: The estimated number and proportion of juveniles remanded in custody at magistrates courts and the Crown court in England and Wales 2005 to 2009 (latest currently available), who were  (a) subsequently acquitted or  (b) given a community sentence is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Estimated number and percentage of juveniles( 1)  remanded in custody( 2)  who were subsequently acquitted or received a non-custodial sentence( 3)  at ma gistrates courts and the Crown c ourt, England and Wales 2005-09 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008( 4)  2009 
			  Number  
			  Magistrates courts( 5)  
			 Acquitted 949 847 791 660 339 
			 Immediate custody 907 914 811 931 888 
			 Non-custodial 1,480 1,459 1,664 1,511 977 
			  Of which:  
			 Community sentence 1,145 1,113 1,244 1,073 694 
			   
			  Crown c ourt  
			 Acquitted 182 149 162 167 237 
			 Immediate custody 815 814 783 1,052 918 
			 Non-custodial 271 216 211 264 239 
			  Of which:  
			 Community sentence 205 180 170 212 192 
			   
			  Percentage  
			  Magistrates courts( 5)  
			 Acquitted 28 26 24 21 15 
			 Immediate custody 27 28 25 30 40 
			 Non-custodial 44 45 51 49 44 
			  Of which:  
			 Community sentence 34 35 38 35 31 
			   
			  Crown c ourt  
			 Acquitted 14 13 14 11 17 
			 Immediate custody 64 69 68 71 66 
			 Non-custodial 21 18 18 18 17 
			  Of which:  
			 Community sentence 16 15 15 14 14 
			 (1) Defined as being aged 10 to 17 at the date of appearance in court. (2) Includes those remanded in custody at any stage of proceedings at magistrates and the Crown court who may also have been given bail at some stage of those proceedings. (3) Magistrates courts figures exclude those committed for trial or sentence at the Crown court and those who failed to appear. Non-custodial sentences include discharges, fines, community sentences, and a number of other sentences that do not involve incarceration. Acquitted includes proceedings discontinued, discharged, withdrawn and dismissed. (4) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. (5) Percentages here represent the proportions of all juveniles who were remanded in custody, excluding those who failed to appear and where the magistrates court committed the defendant for trial or sentence to the Crown court.  Notes: 1. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 2. It is known that in some police force areas, information on remand decisions is not always readily available to those coding court proceedings returns. In certain cases, the return may be mistakenly coded as if no remand had taken place. For magistrates court proceedings, the number of remands and more importantly, the number which are in custody, are believed to be under-recorded in total. As the breakdown of remands into bail and custody cases for a number of forces is not accurate for a number of forces, estimates have to be made to provide national figures. 3. Some percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

Young Offenders: Basic Skills

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of young offenders completed  (a) literacy and  (b) numeracy courses in each of the last five years.

Crispin Blunt: The data provided in the following table displays the number of young people who have achieved a qualification in Prison Service Young Offender Institutions.
	Comparable data are not available for the academic year 2005-06, or for courses completed in Secure Children's Homes, Secure Training Centres, or privately run prisons.
	
		
			  Academic year (1 August to 31 July)  Literacy  Numeracy 
			 2006-07 2,014 2,680 
			 2007-08 1,826 2,260 
			 2008-09 1,350 2,429 
			 2009-10 1,350 1,813 
		
	
	Data are not available on the proportion of young offenders who have completed these qualifications because data are collected on the number of episodes started in public YOIs, and not the number of young people. An episode refers to a period a young person has spent in custody and it is possible that one young person can start or finish more than one custodial episode at different points of each year for different offences.
	The number of episodes started in the academic year 2006-07 was 9,118 and in 2007-08 was 9308. Data has not yet been published for academic years 2008-09 or 2009-10.
	It should be noted that a large number of these episodes are young people who have been remanded to custody, often for very short periods of time. The number of young people remanded in custody in the financial year 2007-08 was 5663 and 2006-07 was 6360.
	There has been a significant reduction of the number of young people in custody since 2008.

Young Offenders: North West

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what specialist accommodation is available for under-18s on bail or remand in the North West.

Crispin Blunt: Young people who are subject to bail or non-secure remand and who are in need of accommodation can be housed in a variety of lodgings. These can be provided by either the local authority or private providers including: foster homes; children's homes; hostels; bed and breakfast accommodation; or accommodation provided by voluntary organisations. Such placements are arranged by a youth offending team worker and social worker, and put before a placement panel. While there is no specific definition of "specialist" accommodation, the underlying principle will be to identify suitable accommodation that would most appropriately meet the needs of the young person, taking into account the nature of the offence and protection of the public.
	Young males aged 15 to 17 who are remanded to custody in the North West would normally be placed at HMPYOI Hindley. In a small number of cases where there are specific concerns about an individual's ability to manage in mainstream YOI accommodation, they may be remanded to HMPYOI Wetherby in West Yorkshire, which has additional dedicated accommodation for 15 to 17-year-old males. Females aged 17 who are remanded to custody would be placed at the Rivendell Unit which is a dedicated young women's unit at HMPYOI New Hall in Wakefield.
	All young people aged 12 to 14 and females aged 15 and 16 who are remanded, are subject to a court ordered secure remand. Where a court decides to remand them to secure accommodation they would be placed in either a secure training centre (the nearest to the North West region being Hassockfield in County Durham) or a secure children's home (the two in the North West being Barton Moss in Manchester and Red Bank in Merseyside). Additionally, males aged 15 to 16-who are deemed by a court to meet certain vulnerability criteria-may also be given a court ordered secure remand and may be placed at a secure training centre or secure children's home. Males aged 15 to 17 who are not deemed to be vulnerable, would be remanded to a young offender institution. Children aged between 10 and 12 can be remanded to the local authority and if they meet certain criteria may be placed by the local authority into a secure children's home.

Young Offenders: North West

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of inmates at each young offender institution in the North West was able to exercise outside on a daily basis in the latest period for which figures are available.

Crispin Blunt: At HMYOI Lancaster Farms, the only dedicated Young Offender Institution in the North West, all young offenders routinely have the opportunity to exercise in the open air on a daily basis.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what official visits Ministers in his Department have made to UK overseas territories since 1997.

Alan Duncan: The information requested is as follows:
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State George Foulkes visited Montserrat from 12-13 January 1999.
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Gareth Thomas visited Montserrat from 21-22 June 2004.
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Michael Foster visited the Turks and Caicos Islands from 24-28 May 2009, to attend the annual meeting of the Caribbean Development Bank.
	Details of all travel costing in excess of £500 by all Cabinet Ministers since 1997, and by all Ministers since 2007, up until May 2010, are available on the Cabinet Office website at:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk
	Details of travel undertaken by Department for International Development (DFID) Ministers since May 2010 are available on DFID's website at:
	www.dfid.gov.uk

Departmental Manpower

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many of his Department's staff at each civil service grade have experience in working on matters of agricultural policy; and how many of them are currently working in each division of his Department.

Stephen O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 6 December 2010,  Official Report, column 36W, to the hon. Member for Lewisham East (Heidi Alexander).

Departmental Travel

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on grey fleet in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

Alan Duncan: Grey fleet travel refers to mileage in employee-owned vehicles. The Department for International Development (DFID) reimburses employees for private mileage undertaken in the direct implementation of their role at either the standard mileage rate, or the cost of public transport if public transport is less. In order to claim reimbursement at either rate, the employee must have a full comprehensive insurance policy permitting the use of their motor vehicle in connection with DFID business.
	DFID is unable to provide the information requested without incurring disproportionate cost. Due to updates in our central accounting system across the Department, DFID will be able to report spend on such reimbursements from 2010-11 onwards.

Developing Countries: Health Services

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if his Department will provide  (a) technical assistance and  (b) advice to developing countries to support the elimination of user fees for healthcare for poor people.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) is currently reviewing all its aid programmes, including our support to the health sector, to assess the impact of these programmes, and to ensure UK aid is effective, accelerates progress towards the Millennium Development Goals and represents value for money.
	DFID has agreed to provide technical assistance to developing countries wishing to implement pro-poor health financing reforms. This will initially be done through support to the World Health Organisation (WHO) to implement the recommendations of the World Health Report and will be in the form of a senior health economist being seconded to WHO by DFID for two years.
	We are also evaluating proposals to provide additional financial resources. These resources will be used to provide direct assistance to developing countries wishing to implement pro-poor health financing reforms. WHO is anticipating a large increase in demand for this type of assistance following the recent publication of the World Health Report, and has approached DFID for this support due to our well-proven and valued track record of providing assistance in this area.

Overseas Aid: Cost-effectiveness

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on what date a comprehensive value for money assessment was last made in respect of each multilateral agency in receipt of funding from his Department.

Alan Duncan: On 9 June 2010, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development launched the multilateral aid review to ensure maximum value for money from the Department for International Development's (DFID's) contributions to multilateral organisations. The review will look at all organisations to which DFID provides core funding, and will assess the relevance of each organisation to the UK's development objectives, their organisational effectiveness and their ability to deliver results on the ground. This is the first time such a comprehensive value for money assessment, looking across all agencies, has been undertaken by the UK Government. The findings of the review are due to be published in February 2011.

Overseas Aid: Expenditure

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department has provided to each multilateral agency since 1997.

Alan Duncan: Details of the Department for International Development's (DFID's) aid expenditure are published in "Statistics on International Development", which is available in the Library of the House and on DFID's website.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department has allocated to the Turks and Caicos Islands in each of the last 10 years.

Alan Duncan: Details of the Department for International Development's (DFID's) aid expenditure, including in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), are published in 'Statistics on International Development', which is available in the Library of the House and on DFID's website. Bilateral programme expenditure and imputed expenditure through multilateral organisations in TCI from 2000-01 to 2009-10
	are shown in the following table. Figures for 2010-11 will be published in the next addition of 'Statistics on International Development'.
	
		
			  £000 
			  Financial year  Total DFID bilateral  DFID imputed multilateral shares 
			 2009-10 4,690 n -a 
			 2008-09 1,000 0 
			 2007-08 178 358 
			 2006-07 149 886 
			 2005-06 357 0 
			 2004-05 1,187 0 
			 2003-04 741 2 
			 2002-03 1,532 0 
			 2001-02 2,719 256 
			 2000-01 2,845 0 
			 n-a = not available

Turks and Caicos Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department is providing to the interim administration in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) has provided a short-term loan, currently totalling £19.7 million, to help the interim Administration meet unavoidable commitments, including payment of public sector salaries.
	DFID is also providing technical assistance, including through funding a chief financial officer who has assumed direct control for all financial decisions.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many officials from his Department are stationed in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Alan Duncan: There are no Department for International Development (DFID) staff members permanently stationed in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). UK-based staff make occasional visits to TCI to provide advice and assistance when necessary.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Aviation: Security

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what dates she has discussed air security issues with the Secretary of State for Transport since 11 May 2010.

Theresa May: holding answer 8 November 2010
	I chair a weekly security meeting bringing together a wide range of Government Departments and agencies which contribute to our counter-terrorism and security work. The Department for Transport is represented at that meeting. Since the attempted terrorist attacks on cargo aircraft on 29 October I have had a number of discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport. We met in COBR on 1 November and 4 November to lead the Government's response to the attempted attacks and continue to meet regularly. Our Departments are working together closely on the review of air freight security which I announced in my statement to the House on 1 November,  Official Report, columns 632-634. Our officials meet regularly both bilaterally and with industry to discuss improvements to aviation security.

Containment

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to review her Department's policy on the use of containment in respect of  (a) children and  (b) adults; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The use of police tactics, such as containment, is an operational matter for police forces. The courts have ruled that containment is a lawful tactic when used proportionately.

Criminal Records

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what period a conviction remains on a criminal record.

Lynne Featherstone: A conviction held on the police national computer will normally be retained for 100 years from the date of the subject's birth.

Demonstrations: Parliament Square

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bosworth of 24 November 2010,  Official Report, column 257, on what dates she discussed the matter of protesters in Parliament Square with the Mayor of London; what the venue was of each such meeting where this issue was discussed; what the outcome was of each such discussion; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 2 December 2010
	My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister has regular meetings with ministerial colleagues, officials and others.
	The Government have introduced measures in the Police Reform Social and Responsibility Bill to support rights to peaceful protest around Parliament while also tackling encampments and other disruptive activity on Parliament Square.

Detention Centres: Children

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with officials at the UK Border Agency on her Department's policy on the detention of children.

Damian Green: holding answer 7 December 2010
	The Government are committed to ending the detention of children for immigration purposes. A review is under way to consider how this can be done in a way which protects the welfare of children and ensures that families with no right to be in the UK leave. During the course of that review the Home Secretary and I have had frequent discussions with officials.

Freedom Bill

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress she has made on the timetable for the introduction of the Freedom Bill; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: As set out in the Home Office Business Plan (published on 8 November) we will introduce a Freedom Bill by February 2011.

Human Trafficking

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what non-governmental organisations she  (a) has consulted and (b) plans to consult in formulating her Department's new priorities for reducing the incidence of human trafficking.

Damian Green: holding answer 2010
	As part of the new strategy to combat human trafficking, which I announced on 14 October, my officials will be consulting relevant voluntary organisations in due course to ensure that their views are heard. The Home Office will shortly be contacting relevant groups regarding consultation.

Identity and Passport Service: Newport (Gwent)

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the First Minister of Wales on the consultation on the proposed closure of Newport Passport Office.

Damian Green: holding answer 7 December 2010
	The Identity and Passport Service is currently engaged on a formal consultation with the trade unions on the proposed closure of the passport application processing centre at Newport. The First Minister has written a number of letters on the subject.

Identity Cards: Information and Communications Technology

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was of IT equipment purchased by or on behalf of the Government in respect of the identity cards scheme; what was done with that equipment when she decided to end that scheme; and how much such equipment will be deployed for other purposes in government.

Damian Green: The cost of IT equipment purchased was £6.5 million in respect of the Critical Workers Identity Card and Early Interest Scheme. All IT equipment has been withdrawn from operation as part of the ID card decommissioning activities and securely stored. Assets and IT equipment relating to the National Identity Register require disposal/destruction and IPS will ensure that this happens in line with agreed guidelines.
	The secure disposal or re-use of new or nearly-new IT equipment is dependant upon the level of protectively marked material or personal data stored on the system. As our IT equipment is generally managed under contract by our IT service providers, they will manage the re-use or disposal according to central Government security policies. The Home Office has a general policy of sharing, re-use and commonality of IT capabilities, in order to increase efficiency, reduce costs and improve environmental sustainability.

Illegal Immigrants

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal immigrants were removed from the UK in  (a) July,  (b) August and  (c) September 2010.

Damian Green: The following table shows the number of removals and voluntary departures for July to September 2010.
	
		
			  Removals and voluntary departures( 1, 2) , from the United Kingdom, by type, July to September 2010 
			  Number of departures( 3) 
			   Enforced removals and voluntary departures   
			   Enforced removals and notified voluntary departures( 4)  Assisted voluntary returns( 5)  Other voluntary departures( 6)  Total  Non-asylum cases refused entry at port and subsequently removed( 7)  Grand total 
			 July 1,700 430 1,245 3,380 1,555 4,935 
			 August 1,690 430 1,250 3,370 1,600 4,975 
			 September 1,730 390 1,145 3,265 1,520 4,785 
			 July-September 5,125 1,250 3,640 10,015 4,675 14,690 
			 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest five and may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding. (2) Provisional figures. Figures will under record due to data cleansing and data matching exercises that take place after the extracts are taken. (3) Removals and voluntary departures recorded on the system as at the dates on which the data extracts were taken. (4) Includes persons leaving under Facilitated Return Schemes. (5) Persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organization for Migration. May include some on-entry cases and some cases where enforcement action has been initiated. (6) Persons who it has been established left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. (7) Includes removals performed by immigration officers at ports using enforcement powers and cases dealt with at juxtaposed controls. 
		
	
	The Home Office publishes statistics on the number of persons removed or departed voluntarily from the UK on a quarterly and annual basis, which are available from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	A copy of the Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary United Kingdom July-September 2010 will be placed in the House Library.

Illegal Immigrants

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of the number of people living illegally in the UK.

Damian Green: holding answer 7 December 2010
	The UK Border Agency does not capture data relating to the number of people living illegally in the UK, because it is not possible to quantify this number accurately.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Minister of State for Borders and Immigration plans to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton dated 20 October 2010 in regard to Mr Muhammad Moazzam Nadeem.

Damian Green: holding answer 7 December 2010
	 I wrote to the right hon. Member on 2 November 2010.

Offences against Children

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training ( a) senior investigating officers and  (b) other police officers receive on (i) the operation of extraterritorial legislation and (ii) investigation of allegations of child sexual abuse committed overseas.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 7 December 2010
	The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre has developed a unique programme of professional development courses. These courses are designed to support professionals working to protect children from sexual abuse and law enforcement officers who work to hold offenders to account.
	These include a course on 'Understanding Child Sex Offenders: A Foundation Course in Behavioural Analysis'; a course on the Sexual Offences Act and a piloted course on Travelling Sex Offenders.
	CEOP, through its Overseas Tracker Team, also gives tactical and strategic advice to police forces and senior investigating officers in relation to the application of extraterritorial legislation and investigations into child sexual abuse committed overseas.

Passports: Biometrics

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether biometric data must be resubmitted each time a person applies for a visa.

Damian Green: All visa applicants who are required to submit their biometric data must do so each time they apply for a visa.

Police: Demonstrations

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with the Metropolitan police on the estimate made of the number of children aged  (a) 16 and under and  (b) 17 to 18 years who were present at the demonstration in Westminster on Wednesday 24 November 2010 prior to the decision to contain protesters being taken; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The use of police tactics is an operational matter for local police forces. The Home Office has not held discussions with the Metropolitan police on the numbers of children present at the demonstration in Westminster on 24 November prior to the decision to contain protestors.

Police: Demonstrations

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with the Metropolitan police on the decision  (a) to use horses to disperse the crowd and  (b) to contain protesters during the demonstration in Westminster on Wednesday 24 November 2010; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  whether she has assessed any video recordings of the use of horses at the demonstration in Westminster on Wednesday 24 November 2010; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what information she has requested from the Metropolitan police on  (a) the impact on protesters and  (b) the outcome for police operations of the decision to (i) contain protesters and (ii) use horses to disperse the crowds at the demonstration in Westminster on Wednesday 24 November 2010; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  what discussions she has had with the Metropolitan police on the proportionality of decisions  (a) to use horses to disperse the crowd and  (b) to contain protesters at the demonstration in Westminster on Wednesday 24 November 2010.

James Brokenshire: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary routinely discusses a range of policing matters with the commissioner of the Metropolitan police. However, police tactics, including the use of horses and containment, are operational matters for the police. The Home Secretary has not made an assessment of video recordings of police tactics used on 24 November. The Home Secretary has not requested specific information related to the use of containment or police horses but has been provided with an overview of the police operation. The police have to maintain a difficult balance between supporting rights to peaceful protest and ensuring local communities are properly protected, and the Home Secretary has written to the commissioner conveying her support for the police operation on 24 November.

Police: Demonstrations

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers the police have to control and manage street demonstrations; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The legal framework for policing demonstrations is set out in the Public Order Act 1986 which gives the police powers to place conditions on demonstrations to prevent serious public disorder, serious disruption to the life of the community and serious damage to property. The legal framework for policing static demonstrations in a designated area around Parliament is set out in sections 132-138 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 which gives police separate powers to place conditions on static demonstrations.
	The police have a range of other powers to deal with any criminal offences which take place at demonstrations.

Public Order Offences

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were  (a) arrested,  (b) proceeded against and  (c) found guilty of offences under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 in each year from 2000 to 2009.

James Brokenshire: The information requested on arrests is not collected centrally.
	The arrests collection held by the Home Office covers arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only, broken down at a main offence group level, covering categories such as violence against the person and robbery. From these centrally reported categories it is not possible to separately identify offences under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986.
	The Ministry of Justice have provided data relating to the number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under section five of the Public Order Act 1986, England and Wales, from 2000 to 2009. This can be viewed in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of persons proceeded against at the magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under the Public Order Act 1986, section 5, England and Wales 2000 to 2009( 1, 2) 
			  Offence description  Statute  Year  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			 Harassment, alarm or distress Public Order Act 1986, section 5 2000(3) 24,336 16,603 
			   2001 23,203 15,479 
			   2002 23,500 15,951 
			   2003 25,225 17,410 
			   2004 25,006 18,164 
			   2005 24,684 18,092 
			   2006 26,406 19,536 
			   2007 27,683 21,525 
			   2008(4) 24,869 19,986 
			   2009 22,767 18,249 
			  
			 Racially aggravated harassment, alarm or distress Public Order Act 1986, section 5 as amended by Crime and Disorder Act 1998, section 31(1)(c) and (5) 2000(3) 772 461 
			   2001 1,181 734 
			   2002 1,165 710 
			   2003 1,376 913 
			   2004 1,646 1,079 
			   2005 1,903 1,338 
			   2006 2,409 1,737 
			   2007 2,811 2,100 
			   2008(4) 2,827 2,251 
			   2009 3,152 2,518 
			  
			 Religiously aggravated harassment, alarm or distress Public Order Act 1986, section 5 as amended by Crime and Disorder Act 1998, section 31(1)(c) and (5) 2000(3) - - 
			   2001 - - 
			   2002 3 3 
			   2003 12 6 
			   2004 16 13 
			   2005 20 17 
			   2006 36 30 
			   2007 38 32 
			   2008(4) 44 30 
			   2009 50 30 
			  
			 Racially or religiously aggravated harassment, alarm or distress Public Order Act 1986, section 5 as amended by Crime and Disorder Act 1998, section 31(1)(c) and (5) 2000(3) - - 
			   2001 - - 
			   2002 7 7 
			   2003 85 71 
			   2004 155 100 
			   2005 228 161 
			   2006 360 271 
			   2007 400 314 
			   2008(4) 437 351 
			   2009 511 411 
			 (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. (4) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008.  Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice.

UK Border Agency: Liverpool

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the likely effects of the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review on the number of staff employed by the UK Border Agency in Liverpool; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: holding answer 2 December 2010
	The spending review settlement for the UK Border Agency will mean that it needs to reduce staff numbers by about 5,200 by the end of the spending review period. This will reduce the work force to around 18,000 by 2015. It is not possible to say what the likely effects of the reductions in staff number in Liverpool are at this stage. The UK Border Agency is still working through detailed planning but will let staff and the public know as soon as the plans are clear. However, the UK Border Agency is committed to discussing work force planning in detail with the unions and our staff before confirming any changes.
	On 4 November, the Home Office implemented a new restructuring, redeployment and redundancy policy, based on ACAS best practise, which provides a framework within which to manage down headcount. Compulsory redundancy continues to be a last resort and the UK Border Agency have committed to using a range of redundancy avoidance measures including voluntary early release, a recruitment freeze on external appointments and redeployment to ensure that this is the case.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Departmental Catering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much has been spent by his Department on outside catering in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt: We cannot separate out catering costs from wider official hospitality expenses without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental Publications

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of his Department's expenditure on printing  (a) Command Papers,  (b) papers laid before Parliament by Act,  (c) consultation documents and  (d) other papers in each of the last 10 years.

Alistair Burt: This information is not held in the form requested and is available only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Redundancy

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff of his Department have  (a) been made redundant and  (b) accepted redundancy terms since May 2010; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of those redundancies.

Alistair Burt: Since May 2010 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not made any permanent member of staff redundant. We have made payments equivalent to statutory redundancy to two non-permanent members of staff who were appointed on fixed term contracts and were entitled to a redundancy payment following expiry of their fixed terms. The cost to the public purse of these payments was £2,850.

Departmental Travel

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on grey fleet in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spent the following on grey fleet (re-imbursing mileage expenses) in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10:
	(a) £146,557.31. This is made up of £50,949.98 by FCO UK, and £95,607.33 by FCO Services.
	(b) £175,999.24. This is made up of £53,925.01 by FCO UK, and £122,074.23 by FCO Services.

Human Rights

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in respect of which states his Department has received allegations of human rights abuses in the last 12 months.

Jeremy Browne: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's overseas missions receive information on human rights, including allegations of abuse, from a wide variety of sources. These include local non-governmental organisations, human rights defenders and local media. Our missions use this information in their assessment of the local human rights situation, and raise allegations of human rights abuses with host Governments on a case-by-case basis. We do not centrally hold information on reports of individual cases of human rights abuses, so to answer your question, an FCO-wide search would be required which would incur a disproportionate cost.
	Human rights reporting is key to our work to promote and protect human rights around the world. The FCO will publish a command paper in spring 2011 which will detail our human rights work around the world and our assessment of the human rights situation in a number of countries.

Iran: Human Rights

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his foreign policy objectives are in respect of Iran; and what assessment he has made of the implications for those objectives of the recent UN statement on human rights violations in that country.

Alistair Burt: The central objective of our policy is to stop Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. To this end, my Department is playing a leading diplomatic role in an internationally-agreed strategy of pressure in the form of sanctions, and engagement, to persuade Iran to resolve the concerns over its nuclear programme.
	We would also like to see a significant improvement in the human rights situation in Iran. The UK strongly supported the recent UN General Assembly resolution on human rights in Iran and my ministerial colleagues and I take every opportunity to highlight cases of concern.

Japan: Whales

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Japanese government on its whaling activities in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: We regularly raise the issue of whaling at ministerial and official level with our Japanese counterparts. Most recently, I raised my Government's concerns about Japanese whaling with the then Deputy Foreign Minister, Takemasa, during my visit to Japan from 9-10 September. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary also raised the issue during his 15-16 July visit to Japan. The Japanese Government are in no doubt as to the strength of feeling in this country about all of Japan's whaling activity. We consider Japan's lethal whaling for 'scientific research' purposes wholly unnecessary.
	We remain opposed to all cetacean hunts, and will continue to work to challenge Japan's position and seek a change in their policy.

Kashmir

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions his Department has had with the government of Pakistan on the Kashmir territorial dispute.

Alistair Burt: I refer the hon. Member to my response to the hon. Member for Gedling (Vernon Coaker) on 6 December 2010,  Official Report, column 42W.

Western Sahara: Human Rights

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2010,  Official Report, column 559W, on Western Sahara: violence, what the restrictions on access for international observers are; and by whom these restrictions are imposed.

Alistair Burt: Our understanding is that there are currently no restrictions on access to Western Sahara and that members of civil society and embassies in Rabat are able to visit.

Western Sahara: Human Rights

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2010,  Official Report, column 559W, on Western Sahara: violence, if he will instruct HM Ambassador in Rabat to send observers to Western Sahara.

Alistair Burt: Officials from our embassy in Rabat regularly visit Western Sahara and will continue to do so. I raised the point about Independent monitoring during my recent visit to the region.

Western Sahara: Human Rights

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2010,  Official Report, column 558W, on Western Sahara: human rights, if the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State will raise with the government of Morocco its duty to protect the citizens of Western Sahara and allow human rights monitoring as a signatory to the Fourth Geneva Convention when he visits Morocco.

Alistair Burt: I have recently returned from Morocco where I discussed the issue of Western Sahara with my Moroccan interlocutors. During my visit I repeated our wish to see the establishment of an independent monitoring mechanism in Western Sahara.

TREASURY

Banks: Loans

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether he plans to bring forward proposals to discourage banks from changing the terms of finance for small and medium-sized enterprises at short notice;
	(2)  if he will bring forward proposals to discourage banks from changing at short notice their terms relating to  (a) finance,  (b) credit and  (c) overdrafts in respect of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Mark Hoban: The Government believe that it is in the interest of banks to serve the needs of businesses, to treat customers fairly and support access to finance. Decisions about the terms and conditions of individual loans are a matter for banks to make on a commercial basis and it would be inappropriate for Government to intervene in these decisions.
	Earlier this year, the six major UK banks and the British Bankers Association (BBA) established a BBA Taskforce, in response to the Government's Green Paper on business finance. The BBA Taskforce committed to improving customer relationships through a new Lending Code, ensuring better access to finance and promoting better understanding amongst their customers. In order to ensure better access to finance, the BBA Taskforce also committed to establish and invest in a new £1.5 billion Business Growth Fund, which will provide capital to growing businesses.
	Further information about the BBA Taskforce is available at:
	http://www.bba.org.uk/media/article/business-finance-taskforce

Departmental Reviews

Tom Watson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what departmental policy reviews his Department has undertaken since 6 May 2010; on what date each such review  (a) was announced and  (b) is expected to publish its findings; what estimate he has made of the cost of each such review; who has been appointed to lead each such review; to what remuneration each review leader is entitled; how many (i) full-time equivalent civil servants and (ii) seconded staff are working on each such review; from which organisations such staff have been seconded; and how much on average such seconded staff will be paid for their work on the review.

Justine Greening: The Treasury only commissions reviews where the external expertise on offer is in the public interest. Any costs of external reviews falls within the Treasury's departmental expenditure limit which is due to decrease by 33% across the spending review period.
	Details of policy reviews undertaken since 6 May 2010 are as follows:
	A review of public sector pensions was announced on 20 June 2010 and is expected to be completed by Budget 2011. The review is being led by John Hutton who is being paid £4,000 per month plus reasonable expenses in line with Treasury expenses policy. The Independent Pension Commission is supported by 11 full-time equivalent staff who have been drawn from HM Treasury, Department for Work and Pensions, Ministry of Defence, Treasury Solicitors, PwC and KPMG. The pay costs of seconded staff are, in the main, met by their parent organisation. The cost of the review is being met by reprioritising existing budgets with no consequent increase in public spending.
	A review of fair pay in the public sector was announced on 19 July 2010 and is expected to be completed by March 2011. The review will be led by Will Hutton who will be able to claim reasonable expenses in line with Treasury rules but will receive no other remuneration. The review is estimated to cost £125,000 which is predominantly the salary costs of one part-time and three full-time civil servants. The cost will be met from within existing provision and will not therefore increase public spending.
	The Independent Commission on Banking, chaired by Sir John Vickers, was announced on 16 June 2010 to recommend structural and non-structural measures to reform the banking system. The Commission has been asked to produce a final report by September 2011.
	Sir John Vickers will be paid £60,000 per annum and work an average of two days per week. Other Commission members will not be paid and work an average of one day a week on Commission business. All Commissioners will be reimbursed for such travel and subsistence expenses as they incur in pursuit of Commission business, in accordance with HM Treasury's expenses policy. The Commissioner's letters of appointment detail this information, and are available on the Commission's website.
	The Commission is supported by a full-time secretariat of 14 officials drawn from HM Treasury, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Financial Services Authority, the Bank of England and the Office of Fair Trading. The pay costs of staff seconded to the secretariat are being met by their parent organisations and are not available centrally.
	The Commission will be provided with such other resources as are necessary to perform its task. All Commission costs are being met by reprioritisation from within existing budgets and there will be no consequent increase public spending.
	As announced at the launch of the Office of Tax Simplification on 20 July 2010, the office will carry out two initial reviews on tax reliefs (final report by Budget 2011) and small business taxation (interim report by Budget 2011). The office will be led by right hon. Michael Jack as chairman and John Whiting as tax director and neither will receive any remuneration but will be eligible for reasonable expenses in line with Treasury expenses policy. The cost of the individual reviews has not been estimated but the running costs of the office as a whole are estimated to be in the region of £500,000 per annum. The office is staffed by three full time civil servants with backgrounds in HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs. There are four staff seconded at no cost to the office from PwC, BDO, Deloittes and private business, see:
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ots_who_we_are.htm
	Further details on these reviews can be found on the Treasury website:
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk

Departmental Travel

Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how much expenditure his Department incurred in respect of travel undertaken by each Minister in his Department in  (a) May and  (b) June 2010;
	(2)  what estimate his Department has made of its expenditure on travel undertaken by  (a) him and  (b) each other Minister in his Department in (i) September and (ii) October 2010.

Justine Greening: As set out in the Ministerial Code Departments will publish, at least quarterly, details of all travel overseas by Ministers. The expenses for the period 13 May to 31 July 2010 were published on the Treasury website on 28 October 2010. I have placed a copy in the Library of the House.
	All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code.

EU Grants and Loans: Republic of Ireland

Naomi Long: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Republic of Ireland on the effects of the financial assistance package for Ireland on  (a) the Northern Ireland economy and  (b) financial institutions operating in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Mark Hoban: Treasury Ministers and officials have discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

Health Centres: Christchurch

Christopher Chope: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2010,  Official Report, column 679W, on health centres: Christchurch, what assessment he has made of the taxpayer interest protected by the outcome of his Department's review of the proposed disposal of the former Saxon Square Health Centre on terms acceptable to the district valuer and the Department for Health.

Danny Alexander: The Treasury aims to protect the taxpayer interest by ensuring public expenditure is good value for money.

Public Expenditure

Simon Kirby: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of GDP was allocated to expenditure by central and local government and their agencies in each year since 1997; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of GDP so allocated in each of the next four years.

Danny Alexander: Details of local government and central Government expenditure as a percentage of GDP are shown in the following table. These figures are calculated from forecasts contained in the Office for Budget Responsibility's November 2010 Economic and Fiscal Outlook and historical data published by the Office for National Statistics.
	
		
			  Table 1: Details of CG and LG expenditure as a percentage of GDP 
			   Central Government and local government expenditure  Nominal GDP  Local and CG expenditure as a percentage of GDP 
			 1997-98 320.6 843 38 
			 1998-99 328.7 890 37 
			 1999-2000 342.1 945 36 
			 2000-01 362.4 990 37 
			 2001-02 386.7 1,032 37 
			 2002-03 418.3 1,092 38 
			 2003-04 453.4 1,157 39 
			 2004-05 488.2 1,215 40 
			 2005-06 515.9 1,274 41 
			 2006-07 545.5 1,348 40 
			 2007-08 578.1 1,424 41 
			 2008-09 621.7 1,434 43 
			 2009-10 664.9 1,403 47 
			 2010-11 689.0 1,483 46 
			 2011-12 694.8 1,550 45 
			 2012-13 702.6 1,628 43 
			 2013-14 710.5 1,721 41 
			 2014-15 723.7 1,817 40 
			 2015-16 744.0 1,916 39 
			  Sources: 1. Expenditure is defined as the central and local government contribution to total managed expenditure, which is current expenditure plus capital gross expenditure (before deducting depreciation). Historical data are from the following ONS series: Central Government calculated as ANLP-ANNS + NSRN Local government calculated as ANLQ-ANNT + NSRO 2. Future years are from corresponding lines of table 1.12 in fiscal supplementary tables to the Economic and Fiscal Outlook November 2010 published by the OBR.

Public Expenditure

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Glasgow North of 11 November 2010,  Official Report, column 474W, on public expenditure, what discussions he has had with  (a) ministerial colleagues and  (b) the devolved Administrations on calculating the Statement of Funding Policy for the purposes of the Barnett Formula according to the level of individual programmes rather than at departmental level; and whether he has made an estimate of the effects of calculations made according to the level of individual programme rather than at the departmental level on the level of payments made.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 7 December 2010
	The 2010 edition of the Statement of Funding Policy was agreed with the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland following consultation with the devolved Administrations.
	Spending review settlements are agreed at departmental level and not individual programme level and the Barnett Formula is applied to total budgets. No Barnett consequentials have been calculated for individual programmes.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Gordon Birtwistle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to ensure parity of esteem between apprenticeships and university degrees;
	(2)  if he will bring forward proposals to establish graduation ceremonies for students who have completed courses in practical skills for the purposes of encouraging parity of esteem between manual and academic achievements.

John Hayes: The Government believe that achievement of high standards in academic study and in practical skills are equally worthy of celebration. Proposals are therefore being developed to secure greater public recognition for those who successfully complete skills training and, in particular, apprenticeships.
	For example, we are already working with the National Apprenticeship Service to introduce graduation ceremonies for apprentices, an apprentice Roll of Honour and new alumni networks. We are also considering how apprenticeship training can be recognised as conferring "technician" status in appropriate sectors. And we will further ensure there are clear progression routes into and through apprenticeships into higher level skills training.

Business: Government Assistance

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what measures he plans to introduce to meet the Government's commitment to manufacturing and new green businesses.

Mark Prisk: The growth review announced in November sets in train an intensive programme of work to address the barriers to growth facing business that will form the basis of this Government's agenda for the rest of this Parliament. It is very much a sign of the importance we attach to manufacturing that one of the first sector growth reviews will be advanced manufacturing. The advanced manufacturing growth review will report back with policy proposals by Budget 2011.
	In the Local Growth White Paper, we have set out specific national green growth priorities on which we want to engage with local enterprise partnerships. This includes low carbon/green innovation, which will be taken forward nationally through bodies such as the Technology Strategy Board and Carbon Trust.
	We have announced £60 million funding to support the development of infrastructure for offshore wind manufacturing.
	In spring 2011, we will publish a Green Economy Roadmap to bring together the key elements of the green economy into a single document, providing business and investors with as much certainty as possible about the future.
	The UK economy requires significantly higher levels of investment in, particularly green, infrastructure. The Green Investment Bank (GIB) is one of a number of policies which, together, will support UK growth, environmental and climate change targets. The GIB will be funded by £1 billion from departmental budgets and significant additional proceeds from Government sale of assets. The GIB will be operational by September 2012.

Copyright: EU Action

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions the Government has had with the Hungarian government on progress on the draft EU Copyright Term Directive during the Hungarian presidency of the Council of Ministers.

Edward Davey: My officials have met with their Hungarian counterparts and discussed a range of IP related issues, and noted that term may be an issue during the Hungarian presidency.

Departmental Postal Services

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which services of his Department and its predecessors have been the subject of a contract awarded following a tender process in which Post Office Ltd submitted a bid since 1997-98.

Edward Davey: Following an  Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) competition run by the Department's facilities management team, courier contracts were awarded in April 2004 to:
	Royal Mail Group, to provide same day courier services, and
	Parcelforce Worldwide, to provide next day/48 hour courier services to the Department.

Departmental Sponsorship

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what expenditure  (a) his Department and  (b) its non-departmental public bodies incurred on sponsorship in each year since 1997 for which figures are available.

Edward Davey: The BIS accounting system does not disaggregate expenditure between sponsorship and other form of support given. Therefore, the amount spent on sponsorship could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Information for non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	All expenditure has to be incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Departmental Travel

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department spent on grey fleet in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

Edward Davey: The following amounts were spent on grey fleet by BIS and its predecessor Departments:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2008-09 (1)384,157 
			 2009-10 (1)352,297 
			 (1) These amounts will also include charges for parking and tolls as such costs are included in claims for mileage allowances. These can be excluded only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Written Questions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the number of questions to his Department tabled in the  (a) House of Commons and  (b) House of Lords that remained unanswered after 10 working days as a result of observation of guidance on the timing of answers to similar questions tabled to more than one Department in the latest period for which figures are available.

Edward Davey: In the case of questions that are deemed to be "round robin", "The Guide to Parliamentary Work", published by the Leader of the House of Commons
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/government-business/parliamentary-business.aspx
	states that Departments should not delay preparing an answer until 'round robin' advice is provided, and should not miss the target deadlines for this reason.

Higher Education: Northern Ireland

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Finance Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive on the likely effect of his proposed changes to higher education funding  (a) on the Northern Ireland Block Grant via Barnett consequentials and  (b) on funding available for Northern Ireland universities in the period between the implementation of the proposed arrangements in England and the introduction of any new arrangements for Northern Ireland by the devolved administration.

David Willetts: Adjustments in the block grant totals for the devolved Administrations through the Barnett formula are calculated on the basis of the overall change in departmental expenditure limits rather than any particular programmes within them. We have consistently indicated that each devolved Administration will need to make its own decisions about how to fund higher education and the other services for which it is responsible within the overall total available to it. Although we have discussed our proposals for reform of higher education with the Minister for Employment and Lifelong Learning in Northern Ireland it has not been discussed with the Finance Minister.

Higher Education: Student Numbers

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people resident in Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency attended university in each of the last three years.

David Willetts: The latest available information from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) is shown in the table. Figures for the 2009/10 academic year will be available in mid January 2011.
	The Department has recently received updated postcode information; therefore figures may not match previously published information.
	Constituency level information is not available for students who study higher education courses in further education colleges.
	
		
			  Enrolments( 1)  by Bexleyheath and Crayford c onstituency( 2) 
			  UK Higher Education Institutions-academic years 2006/07 to 2008/09 
			  Academic year  Enrolments 
			 2006/07 2,195 
			 2007/08 2,255 
			 2008/09 2,380 
			 (1) Covers enrolments to all levels and modes of study. (2) Excludes enrolments whose constituency could not be established due to missing or invalid postcode information.  Note: Figures are based on a HESA standard registration population and have been rounded to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Innovation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which innovation centres supported by regional development agencies are designated as excellent.

David Willetts: The starting point for the future funding of technology and innovation centres will be the priorities for the Technology Strategy Board's overall programme of work and its objectives for specific technology areas.
	Some of the existing RDA funded centres may form the basis for a future technology and innovation centres with further development. However, no decisions have been made and the Technology Strategy Board will work with industry, stakeholders, and wider government to identify the priority areas and governance structure for the elite network of technology and innovation centres by April 2011.

Post Offices: Credit Unions

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Post Office on the integration of credit unions into Post Office branches.

Edward Davey: The Post Office already works with Credit Unions, and many Credit Union account holders can already access their accounts at post offices through arrangements with the Co-Operative Bank. It is estimated that in the last six months almost 80,000 Credit Union transactions have been carried out in post office branches.
	On 9 November the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published a policy statement on the future of the Post Office: 'Securing the Future of the Post Office in the Digital Age', which firmly supports a stronger link up between the Post Office and Credit Unions. We are actively looking into ways the Post Office and Credit Unions can work more closely together, and I have discussed this issue with senior management at Post Office Ltd.

Radio Frequencies

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has received from Vodafone on the forthcoming digital dividend spectrum auction in 2010.

Edward Vaizey: UK mobile network operator, Vodafone has made a number of representations to me, both verbally and through written communication, on the proposed auction of 800 MHz spectrum including the importance they place on being able to participate in that auction.

Retail Distribution Review

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has made an assessment of the effects of the Retail Distribution Review on  (a) independent financial advisers and  (b) other small businesses.

Mark Hoban: holding answer 6 December 2010
	I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for West Worcestershire (Harriett Baldwin) on 6 December,  Official Report, column 95W.

Sixth Form Education: Capital Investment

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how many sixth form colleges and further education colleges have undertaken capital works in excess of  (a) £100,000 and  (b) £1,000,000 which have attracted a value added tax rate of zero in the last 10 years;
	(2)  what the monetary value was of capital works undertaken by sixth form colleges and further education colleges which have been zero-rated for VAT in 2009-10.

John Hayes: Capital funding for further education colleges is administrated by the Skills Funding Agency and I have asked Geoff Russell, the chief executive of Skills Funding, to write to my hon. Friend with the information requested. A copy of his letter will be placed in the House Libraries.

South West Regional Development Agency

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much he plans to allocate to the South West Regional Development Agency in  (a) 2011-12 and  (b) future years to enable it to honour outstanding commitments.

Mark Prisk: The allocation to the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) for 2011/12 is expected to be confirmed shortly. Subject to parliamentary approval of the Public Bodies Bill, SWRDA is expected to close by 31 March 2012. No allocations to it will be made after closure. It is expected that legal commitments still remaining after closure will transfer to successor bodies and be met from the resources provided by the spending review settlement.

South West Regional Development Agency

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which organisations his Department has proposed to staff of the South West Development Agency as options for transfers of employment.

Mark Prisk: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) have confirmed their intention that activity to deliver the Rural Development Programme for England will transfer from South West Development Agency and other regional development agencies (RDA) to core DEFRA in due course. Further announcements on other organisations transferring in functions and RDA staff will be made in the coming months as transition and closure plans are developed.

Spam: E-mail

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has assessed the merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to reduce or eliminate unsolicited e-mails, in particular those of a pornographic nature; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: The Information Commissioner's Office has responsibility for enforcing the regulations to control unsolicited e-mails (spam) and complaints about breaches of enforcement notices. Such a breach is a criminal offence with a maximum fine of up to £5,000.
	The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 require organisations to only send marketing e-mails to individuals who have agreed to receive them, except where there is an existing clearly defined customer relationship.
	Spam is a global problem and now accounts for over 85% of all internet traffic(1). Approximately 96%, of spam originates outside the UK and for that reason, the steps we can take in the UK to reduce its incidence and effect are limited.
	(1) Source:
	Symantech-The State of Spam-November 2010

Students: Fees and Charges

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  if he will meet a delegation of students from Northern Ireland to discuss the implications for them of his proposals to increase tuition fees in England and Wales before his proposals are put to the House for agreement;
	(2)  what meetings he has had with representatives of students since his announcement of a proposed increase in tuition fees.

David Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is responsible for the funding of higher education in England only. It is for the Northern Ireland Executive to decide how it wishes to fund higher education students from Northern Ireland.
	My ministerial colleagues and I are in regular contact with Aaron Porter and the National Union of Students (NUS) at a national level and through the National Scholarship Programme, the latest meeting for which was held on 6 December. We also hold discussions with students whenever we visit a higher education institution.

Students: Fees and Charges

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the contribution to tuition fees that would be required of a newly-starting  (a) nurse,  (b) teacher and  (c) social worker who had attended a three year course at a university charging (i) £4,000 and (ii) £6,000 per annum in the first year of their employment;
	(2)  if he will estimate the average weekly student loan payment for a newly-qualified  (a) nurse,  (b) teacher and  (c) social worker in their first year of employment who had attended a university charging £3,290 per year in tuition fees under the existing student finance system.

David Willetts: Student loans are repaid on an income contingent basis; the amount borrowed by an individual would have no bearing on the amount of contribution repaid in the first year or any year of their employment.
	Under the current student finance system, borrowers repay 9% of their income over the income threshold of £15,000. A nurse in the first year of employment earning a salary of £21,000, would pay £10.38 per week; for a teacher earning £24,000, this figure would be £15.58 per week; and for a social worker earning £23,000, the weekly payment would be £13.85.
	All borrowers under the proposed future system will repay 9% of their income over an income threshold of £21,000. A nurse in the first year of employment earning £21,000, would pay nothing as their income would not breach the threshold; for a teacher earning £24,000, this figure would be £5.19 per week; and for a social worker earning £23,000, £3.46 per week.
	All figures are expressed in 2010 prices.

Vocational Training: Finance

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had on the establishment of a single funding council for skills training.

John Hayes: The Skills Funding Agency is the single agency responsible for funding skills training for adults, including apprenticeships aged 16 and over. In order to streamline arrangements for FE colleges and other training providers we will transfer responsibility to the Skills Funding Agency for dispensing calculated 16-18 grants to FE colleges and independent training providers on behalf of the Young People's Learning Agency, so that FE colleges and training providers will have a single point of contact with one agency, with a single discussion on performance and audit. This is a significant change sought by the sector for some time. The Young People's Learning Agency will remain responsible for calculating 16-18 grants for named colleges on the basis of lagged pupil numbers and the 16-18 national funding formula.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Servants

Ian Austin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what records his Department holds of occasions since May 2010 on which civil servants have expressed concerns about the appropriateness of the  (a) involvement of, and  (b) direction of civil servants by, officers of a political party in events organised for the Prime Minister in his official capacity; and on what date each such occurrence was recorded.

Nick Hurd: It has never been the case that employees of political parties can manage civil servants.

Departmental Travel

Paul Maynard: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much his Department spent on grey fleet in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office spent £15,225 in 2008-09 and £12,700 in 2009-10 on grey fleet.

Electronic Government

Simon Kirby: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he expects to implement the changes to the DirectGov website recommended in the report to his Department by Martha Lane Fox.

Nick Hurd: My officials are working on the recommendations from the Martha Lane Fox Strategic Review. They are consulting with colleagues and preparing an implementation plan for how this work will be taken forward taking consideration of the spending review.

Electronic Government

Simon Kirby: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he plans to invite Martha Lane Fox to review further central Government websites; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: I have taken a number of steps to review online Government services and the websites used to access these services. These include asking Martha Lane Fox in her role as Digital Champion to review the Directgov Website, and asking Government Departments to review their own websites.
	There are no current plans to invite Martha Lane Fox to review further central Government websites.

Electronic Government

Simon Kirby: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent assessment he has made of the value for money of Government websites.

Nick Hurd: In June 2010, we published the costs and usage of all central Government Department websites in accordance with the recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee. URL ref:
	www.coi.gov.uk/websitemetrics2009-10

Electronic Government: Publicity

Simon Kirby: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps his Department is taking to encourage people to access Government services online.

Francis Maude: I have taken a number of steps to review online Government services and the websites used to access these services. These include asking Martha Lane Fox in her role as Digital Champion to review the Directgov Website, and asking Government Departments to review their own websites.
	On 23 November I published the report on Directgov prepared by Martha Lane Fox and my response to that report. Copies of both documents are available in the Library. My response outlined plans for making a first wave of Government services 'Digital by Default'-these are:
	Job seekers allowance
	Services provided by Companies House
	Student loan applications
	My officials continue to talk with officials from other Departments to identify further services to become Digital by Default.
	Work also continues with organisations, such as the Post Office and UK Online centres, on developing 'assisted digital' access to support those who need help to access digital services, to ensure that in making services Digital by Default no-one gets left behind.
	Finally, I and my Department continue to support the work being done by Martha Lane Fox and her team under the Race Online 2012 initiative to help get more people online-and I would like to see all Government Departments make pledges in support of Race Online 2012.

Heart Diseases: Primary Care Trusts

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the mortality rate was in respect of heart disease in each primary care trust in England in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated December 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the mortality rate was in respect of heart disease in each primary care trust in England in each of the last five years. (28921)
	Table 1 provides the age-standardised mortality rate per 100,000 population, where ischaemic heart disease was the underlying cause of death, for each primary care organisation in England, for the years 2005 to 2009 (the latest year available). A copy has been placed in the House of Commons library.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Cultural Relations: Australia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what his policy is on the repatriation of Australian indigenous human remains held by UK institutions.

Edward Vaizey: Claims for the repatriation of human remains held in UK collections are for the trustees or governing authorities of the institutions involved to consider and the Government do not intervene. However, in 2005, the Government published, on behalf of the museums sector, 'Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums', which includes advice on dealing with repatriation claims. I am strongly of the view that any institution which currently holds Australian indigenous human remains should do its utmost to return them.

Cultural Relations: Australia

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with publicly-funded museums on the repatriation of Australian indigenous human remains.

Edward Vaizey: None.

Cultural Relations: Australia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many Australian indigenous human remains have been repatriated from public bodies since the issuance of UK Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums in 2005.

Edward Vaizey: The Government do not request this information from UK collections but are aware that a number of successful repatriations have taken place.

Cultural Relations: Australia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will estimate the number of Australian indigenous human remains held in UK institutions.

Edward Vaizey: The Government do not hold such information. However, the Australian Government estimate that there are approximately 730 Australian indigenous human remains held in at least 18 UK institutions.

Departmental Temporary Employment

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many agency workers his Department and its agencies employ at each pay grade.

John Penrose: The tables set out the number of agency workers and interim managers employed in the Department and its agency at each pay grade.
	
		
			  The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) 
			  DCMS Grade  Civil service grade equivalent  Agency workers 
			 Senior civil service Senior civil service 0 
			 Grade A Grades 6/7 14 
			 Grade B Higher executive officer/senior executive officer 0 
			 Grade C Executive officer 10 
			 Grade D Administrative officer/administrative assistant 4 
			 Total  28 
		
	
	
		
			  The Royal Parks (TRP) 
			  TRP Grade  Civil service grade equivalent  Agency workers 
			 Senior civil service Senior civil service 0 
			 Grade IV Grades 6/7 0 
			 Grade III Higher executive officer/senior executive officer 0 
			 Grade II Executive officer 3 
			 Grade I Administrative officer/administrative assistant 2 
			 Total  5

Internet: Further Education

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the implementation of the provisions of the Digital Economy Act 2010 on the regulation by colleges of student access to the internet.

Edward Vaizey: I have been asked to reply 
	in my capacity as a Minister in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	There are simple and proportionate steps that institutions such as colleges can adopt to prevent the use of their networks for the online infringement of copyright. Many already do so and, in many cases, their activities to prevent infringement already go far beyond what the Digital Economy Act requires. We expect that colleges will continue to put in place such measures to prevent infringement on their networks, when the Act is implemented.

Local Press

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent assessment he has made of trends in sales of  (a) local and  (b) regional newspapers; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: Local and regional newspapers continue to meet the twin challenges of structural and cyclical change. While print circulation is falling, viewing of online news is growing rapidly. The issue is how to successfully monetise this.
	The Government announced on 29 November 2010 that we will be carrying out a growth review of the digital and creative industries which will include the publishing sector.

Nicholas Shott: Newsquest

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2010,  Official Report, column 838W, if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of the meeting between Nicholas Shott and Newsquest.

Edward Vaizey: Nicholas Shott is undertaking his review of local TV in an independent capacity and any papers relating to the review remain his own. His final conclusions will take account of the meetings he held with various groups of stakeholders. His report will be available on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's website in due course.

HEALTH

Accidents: Fees and Charges

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the maximum sum per case his Department seeks to recover in respect of charges for NHS treatment of those involved in accidents; on what date the maximum was last reviewed; and if he will review them in order to achieve full recovery of NHS expenses from the insurers of those responsible for such accidents;
	(2)  how much the NHS spent on the treatment of those involved in accidents in cases where some or all of the cost of treatment was recovered from the insurers of those held responsible for the accident in each of the last three years;
	(3)  how much his Department recovered from insurers in repayment of NHS treatment expenses in respect of those involved in accidents in each of the last three years; and how many cases were involved.

Simon Burns: The maximum sum that the Department is able to recover for any case under the NHS Injury Costs Recovery scheme is currently £42,999. This is uprated annually in line with hospital and community health service inflation and was last changed in April 2010. The Department continues to monitor the operation of the scheme but has no immediate plans to remove this cap.
	Total cases and amounts recovered through the scheme for the last three years for the national health service in England were as follows. Figures reflect the expansion of the scheme to include injury claims other than road traffic accidents in 2007:
	
		
			   Cases ( T housand)  Income (£ million) 
			 2007-08 147 121 
			 2008-09 160 135 
			 2009-10 182 158 
		
	
	The Department does not hold records of the costs of treatment relating to insured accidents.

Ambulance Services

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to ensure that ambulance services commissioned by GP consortia provide a resilient service.

Simon Burns: The White Paper 'Liberating the NHS' set out our proposals to devolve power and responsibility for commissioning services to local consortiums of general practitioner (GP) practices, supported by the creation of an independent NHS commissioning board.
	Consortiums of GP practices working with other health and care professionals will commission the great majority of national health service services including urgent and emergency care and ambulance services for their patients. They will not be directly responsible for commissioning services that GPs themselves provide, nor will they will be responsible for commissioning the other family health services. These will be the responsibility of the NHS Commissioning Board, as will national and regional specialised commissioning.
	Our proposals for this new model of commissioning draw on the regular contact that GPs have with patients and their more detailed understanding of patients wider health care needs. The NHS commissioning board will hold GP consortiums to account for both their stewardship of NHS resources and the health outcomes they achieve.
	'Liberating the NHS: Commissioning for Patients' invited views on a number of areas of the commissioning agenda. The engagement exercise closed on 11 October and the Department is now analysing all of the contributions received.

Blood

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess the merits of introducing pathogen reduction technology as a standard treatment for blood products in the NHS.

Anne Milton: A pathogen inactivation system is currently used to treat plasma from the United States where levels of viral markers are higher than in the United Kingdom.
	A different pathogen inactivation system suitable for platelets was evaluated by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) in January 2010. Taking into account the available information, with specific reference to efficacy, safety cost effectiveness and potential ancillary benefits, SaBTO does not recommend pathogen inactivation for platelets at this time.
	Neither of these pathogen inactivation systems are currently suitable for use with red blood cells.

Blood: Donors

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to review the appropriateness of the National Blood Service's policy on the donation of blood by men who have had sex with men.

Anne Milton: The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) is currently reviewing the evidence base for donor deferral in relation to sexual behaviours, including the exclusion of men who have ever had sex with men.
	The Committee considers that it is extremely important that the work of this group is based on the available scientific evidence and expects to make its recommendations on the most appropriate ways to ensure the safety of the blood supply in early 2011. The Department will consider SaBTO's recommendations once they have been made.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what treatment tariffs are available to hospitals in respect of breast screening.

Simon Burns: There are no specific tariffs available to hospitals in respect of breast screening services, which are funded through local contracting arrangements between trusts and primary care Trusts. However, tariffs available for breast biopsy procedures are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Healthcare resource group code  Description  2010-11 in - patient elective and non-elective tariff (£) 
			 JA09A Intermediate breast procedures with complications and comorbidities 1,848 
			 JA09B Intermediate breast procedures without complications and comorbidities 1,172

Children: Cycling

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the contribution cycling makes to children's health; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Department has not undertaken an assessment of the contribution cycling makes to children's health. However, in 2007 Cycling England reviewed the evidence that supports the health benefits of cycling. The report "Cycling and Health-What's the evidence" indicates that regular physical activity through cycling has positive health benefits for children and young people.
	Cycling can contribute to the 60 minutes of daily physical activity recommended under current guidelines for children's general health benefit.
	We are reviewing the evidence about the health benefits of physical activity for children and young people and will be producing updated physical activity guidelines in 2011.

Departmental Responsibilities

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what meetings  (a) Ministers,  (b) special advisers and  (c) officials in his Department have had with representatives of (i) Diageo, (ii) Kraft, (iii) Unilever, (iv) Kellogg's, (v) Nestle, (vi) McDonalds and (vii) Pepsico since May 2010;
	(2)  what meetings  (a) Ministers,  (b) special advisers and  (c) officials in his Department have had with representatives from organisations in the advertising and marketing industries since May 2010.

Anne Milton: In discharging their official duties, Ministers, special advisers and departmental officials meet with representatives from such organisations in a wide range of forums, including speaking engagements, conferences and seminars.
	Other than multi-stakeholder meetings, since May 2010, departmental Ministers have held meetings with Unilever, McDonalds and Unacom, while the Department's special advisers held meetings with Diageo and Kellogg's.
	During the same period, departmental officials have held meetings with Diageo, Unilever, Nestle, McDonalds, the Advertising Association, 23Red, Freud Communications, M and C Saatchi, VCCP, MCBD and Fast Track Agency.

Departmental Telephone Services

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much revenue was received or saved through the use of non-geographic telephone numbers by  (a) his Department and  (b) the NHS in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10; and how much he expects to receive or take from their use in 2010-11.

Simon Burns: The information requested is not collected centrally. The hon. Member may wish to contact each primary care trust and national health service body for this information.

Epilepsy

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the likely effects of extending the role for national commissioning in the provision of epilepsy services; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: It is the responsibility of local health commissioners to ensure that they commission local services to meet the needs of their population living with epilepsy. This includes ensuring that all relevant guidelines, including those issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence are able to be implemented where deemed appropriate.
	We have made no assessment of the likely effects of extending the role for national commissioning in the provision of epilepsy services.

Epilepsy

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account he took of  (a) rates of misdiagnosis of epilepsy,  (b) access to tertiary referral for epilepsy services,  (c) rates of avoidable death owing to epilepsy,  (d) the number of annually-required epilepsy surgeries and  (e) the number of epilepsy surgeries performed annually when developing the proposals in the Health White Paper, Quality and Excellence: Liberating the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: The White Paper 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS' sets out the Government's vision for the national health service. While its proposals will impact patient care across the spectrum of health needs, it does not set out a strategy for individual conditions. The Government consulted widely on the implementation of the White Paper proposals and have received over 6,000 responses from a wide range of individuals and organisations, including patients, clinicians, professional bodies, and epilepsy-related organisations and charities. We will publish our response to the White Paper consultations, including further detail about the implementation of our proposals, in due course.

General Practitioners

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account he plans to take of the views of local authorities on the numbers of GP consortia in their area in approving the establishment of GP consortia.

Simon Burns: The NHS Commissioning Board will have the duty and powers to authorise consortia, once it is satisfied that they have the necessary arrangements and capacity to fulfil their statutory duties and accountabilities and that there is clarity about the geographical area that they cover. Further details will be set out in the Government's forthcoming response to the consultation on the White Paper "Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS".

General Practitioners: Working Hours

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GPs provide out-of-hours care  (a) nationally and  (b) in Milton Keynes.

Simon Burns: This information is not collected centrally. My hon. Friend may wish to contact each primary care trust for this information.

General Practitioners: Working Hours

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what qualifications are required of GPs to enable them to provide out-of-hours care.

Simon Burns: General practitioners (GPs) providing out of hours care must be on the General Medical Council GP register and on a Primary Care Trust GP Performers List. A trainee must be registered with the General Medical Council with a licence to practise, included on a Primary Care Trust GP Performers List, and supervised by an approved GP clinical supervisor.
	In addition, out-of-hours providers have a responsibility to ensure the clinical competence of all employed doctors.

Health Centres: Christchurch

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  for what reason his Department did not accept the district valuer's assessment of his Department's liability in respect of its leasehold interest in the former health centre premises at Saxon Square, Christchurch;
	(2)  what steps he has taken to bring the empty leasehold premises at Saxon Square, Christchurch back into use; what steps he plans to take to  (a) rectify the dilapidations and  (b) market the premises; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The Department took into account the report from the district valuer when giving consideration to the figure that the landlord was prepared to accept for a surrender of the lease. The proposed surrender payment was also considered by HM Treasury in their role of reviewing spending decisions to ensure value for money and affordability. Their views were reflected in an offer recently made to the landlord with whom discussions continue.
	The Department has previously marketed the property; its availability is on the e-PIMS database managed by the Government Property Unit and discussions have been held with the landlord with regard to alternative uses for the property. These discussions will continue and also in respect of required repairs. Further marketing will be undertaken if required.

Health Services: Weather

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2010,  Official Report, column 911W, on health services: weather 
	(1)  what temporary measures have been necessary;
	(2)  whether strategic health authorities have identified operational issues in their area through daily winter reporting; and in respect of which hospital trusts local winter plans have been escalated to mitigate operational issues.

Simon Burns: It is for individual local health economies to ensure that appropriate services are available for their patients during winter.
	The national health service is well versed in winter planning and each year works closely with the Department, through winter leads in strategic health authorities, to anticipate and manage any increased pressure and demands placed on local health economies and social care services throughout the winter period.
	As it has done in previous years, the NHS is working in partnership with social care and community organisations to ensure that it has robust local plans in place to deal with anticipated winter pressures. These reflect the escalation processes that are enacted and built on throughout the year, whenever a local health economy experiences pressure.
	It is inevitable that there will be occasional peaks in demand during the winter season. This can mean temporary measures (postponing routine elective activity to make way for more urgent cases), are necessary to ensure a safe and effective service is maintained, but these are kept to an absolute minimum.

Herbal Medicine: EU Law

David Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had on the future use of traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic compound herbal remedies under the provisions of the Traditional Herbal Medicines Directive; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has regular discussions with the Herbal Forum, an umbrella group representing manufacturers' trade associations and practitioners in the herbal sector, about the implementation of the directive on traditional herbal medicinal products. The MHRA has also attended various events where the directive has been discussed.
	There is the potential for some herbal medicines from non-western traditions to be registered under the traditional herbal registration scheme. However, many herbal medicines from the traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic sectors are more suitable for supply in the context of a practitioner/patient relationship. The Government are currently considering their overall strategy on professional regulation, including the possibility of establishing a registration scheme for practitioners of these traditional forms of medicine.

Herbal Medicine: EU Law

David Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has made an assessment of the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament concerning the Report on the experience acquired as a result of the application of the provisions of Chapter 2a of Directive 2001/83/EC, as amended by Directive 2004/24/EC, on specific provisions applicable to traditional herbal medicinal products, with particular reference to page 10, paragraph 5; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The European directive on traditional herbal medicinal products is intended for relatively low risk manufactured herbal medicines suitable for use without medical supervision. It is unclear that there would currently be sufficient support across the European Union for a much wider initiative to introduce new European legislation lifting or modifying the existing requirements of the medicines regulatory regime in relation to systems of traditional medicine.
	The Government are currently considering their overall strategy on professional regulation, including the possibility of establishing a registration scheme for practitioners of these traditional forms of medicine.

Hospitals

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by how many he expects the number of single patient rooms in NHS hospitals to increase between 2010 and 2015; what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of such an increase; and from what sources he expects such costs to be met.

Simon Burns: The information is not available in the precise format requested.
	Each NHS trust makes an informed choice locally regarding the appropriate percentage of single room provision based on practical considerations such as site restrictions, affordability as well as clinical and operational limitations. In some cases, providing single rooms for all patients may not be clinically appropriate. Details of plans for such provisions are not collected centrally. Where possible, as resources allow, hospitals are advised to support patient privacy and help reduce the risk of infection by increasing the number of single rooms.
	The cost of providing single patient rooms will be met by the national health service organisation involved as part of the overall cost of the project. Details of such costs are not collected centrally.
	Where major NHS capital schemes are approved by the Department, the number of single rooms can be reported. Available data for these schemes, which are under construction or opened shows the single patients rooms provision as follows.
	
		
			  NHS trust site  Project detail  Operational date  Proportion of single rooms (percentage) 
			 Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust Replacement of St Luke's hospital offering general and forensic mental health services May 2010 100 
			 North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust Reconfiguration of acute hospital services June 2010 37 
			 Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust Rationalisation from two main sites to one at Pinderfields Hospital. Small unit at Pontefract June 2010 50 
			 Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust Relocation of Maternity Unit and modernisation of acute services including Diagnostic Treatment Centre in Chelmsford November 2010 38 
			 Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust Modernisation and reconfiguration from four sites to two at Pembury and Maidstone Quarter 1 2011 100 
			 University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust/Stoke-on Trent NHS Primary Care Trust Major new build and reconfiguration at University Hospital site Quarter 4 2012 50 
			 Barts and The London NHS Trust Acute site rationalisation. Quarter 4 2013 40 
			 North Bristol NHS Trust Likely relocation of acute services onto single site Quarter 1 2014 (1)75 
			 Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NSH Foundation Trust Reconfiguration of acute hospital services (UC) November 2010 52 
			 (1) Proposed

Hospitals: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the mortality rate is for hospital patients  (a) on weekdays and  (b) at weekends (i) nationally and (ii) in Milton Keynes.

Simon Burns: The information requested is not held centrally. Information about the mortality rate for hospital patients on weekdays and at weekends in Milton Keynes may be available directly from Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Liskeard Community Hospital: Private Finance Initiative

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the running costs of Liskeard Community Hospital was paid to the private finance initiative (PFI) provider in each year from 2005 to 2009; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of running costs that will be paid to the PFI provider in  (a) 2010 and  (b) 2011.

Simon Burns: The information is not available in the format requested. However, data for net operating expenses for Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust (PCT) in respect of its private finance initiative (PFI) schemes, is set out in the following table.
	Data are not held centrally for 2010-11 or 2011-12.
	
		
			  Cornwall and Isles of Scilly PCT-proportion of total net operating costs relating to PFI 
			   Percentage of total revenue expenditure relating to PFI 
			 2005-06 0.1 
			 2006-07 0.1 
			 2007-08 0.1 
			 2008-09 0.1 
			 2009-10 0.1 
			  Notes: 1. The percentages provided represent the net operating expenses in respect of PFI schemes as a proportion of total net operating costs. 2. 2005-06 to 2008-09 figures compiled under UK generally accepted accounting practice. 3. 2009-10 figures were compiled under international finance reporting standards under which PFI costs in the audited summarisation schedules of trusts are split between capital repayments and revenue expenditure elements, which does not make a precise like for like comparison with earlier years in this table possible. However, an estimate of the PFI unitary payment for 2009-10 is held centrally by the Department as well as the audited outturn for the net operating costs for the PCT for this year; an estimated percentage figure for this year has therefore been calculated using these two figures.  Source: Audited summarisation schedules of the PCT for 2005-06 to 2009-10.

Maternity Services

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many and what percentage of pregnant women normally resident in  (a) the East Riding of Yorkshire and  (b) England were transferred to hospitals other than that of their preferred choice due to an insufficient number of neonatal intensive care cots in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of moving pregnant women normally resident in the East Riding of Yorkshire to hospitals other than their preferred hospital due to insufficient neonatal intensive care facilities in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

Anne Milton: Information is not collected centrally on the number and percentage of women transferred to hospitals other than their preferred choice. As set out in the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Quality Standard for Specialist Neonatal Care, networks, commissioners and providers will wish to undertake an annual needs assessment and ensure each network has adequate capacity. This will include ensuring there are appropriate numbers of neonatal intensive care cots.
	No estimate has been made on the cost of transferring women to a hospital other than her preferred choice.

Meat: Dairy Products

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to publish evidence from  (a) the Food Standards Agency and  (b) other advisory bodies on the potential effects on (i) public and (ii) animal health of the entry of meat and dairy products from cloned animals to the food chain.

Anne Milton: The Board of the Food Standards Agency discussed the implications of animal cloning at its open meeting on 15 September 2010. The record of that discussion, including the Agency's advice to Ministers, is available on the Agency's website at:
	www.food.gov.uk/aboutus/ourboard/boardmeetings/boardmeetings2010/100915/boardmins150910
	A copy has been placed in the Library. The safety of meat and milk from cloned cattle was subsequently considered by the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes on 25 November 2010 and the Agency issued a news report the same day with the Committee's conclusions. The draft minutes of the Committee's discussion will be published within two weeks of the meeting via its website:
	http://acnfp.food.gov.uk
	The European Food Safety Authority published a detailed opinion on food safety and other implications of animal cloning in 2008, and this was updated in June 2009 and again in September 2010. These reports can be found at:
	www.efsa.europa.eu/en/ahawtopics/topic/cloning.htm
	Meat and dairy products from cloned animals or their descendants cannot be distinguished from those obtained from conventional animals and the entry of such products into the food chain would not affect the health of other animals. Advice on cloning from the National Standing Committee on Farm Animal Genetic Resources is available on its website at:
	www.defra.gov.uk/fangr/documents/100914-cloning-statement.pdf
	The Farm Animal Welfare Council intends to issue an opinion on breeding technologies in 2011 in a follow up to its 2004 report on the welfare implications of breeding and breeding technologies in commercial agriculture. More recent advice specifically on cloning was passed to Ministers in 2007. These reports are both published on the Council's website at:
	www.fawc.org.uk/pdf/breedingreport.pdf
	and
	www.fawc.org.uk/pdf/250107.pdf

Medical Equipment: Expenditure

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS has spent on medical supplies and equipment in each year since 2000.

Simon Burns: Total revenue expenditure on clinical supplies and services, taken from the national health service (England) summarised accounts, is shown for each year since 1999-2000 in the following table.
	
		
			  Supplies and services clinical 
			   £000 
			 2009-10 4,777,151 
			 2008-09 4,922,822 
			 2007-08 5,036,713 
			 2006-07 5,042,886 
			 2005-06 5,067,562 
			 2004-05 4,953,088 
			 2003-04 5,325,620 
			 2002-03 4,805,109 
			 2001-02 4,312,459 
			 2000-01 3,878,782 
			 1999-2000 3,435,273 
		
	
	Revenue expenditure on clinical supplies and services is taken to include drugs, dressings, medical and surgical equipment, x-ray equipment and supplies, laboratory equipment, appliances (eg artificial limbs and wheelchair hardware) and the maintenance of equipment. The Department does not collect information that allows capital expenditure on medical equipment to be disaggregated from total capital expenditure.

NHS Litigation Authority

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many claims the National Health Service Litigation Authority settled without proceedings being issued in each of the last three years.

Simon Burns: The NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) supplied the information requested in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of claims the NHSLA settled without proceedings being issued from 2007 - 10 
			  Settlement year  Number of claims 
			 2007-08 6,170 
			 2008-09 5,708 
			 2009-10 6,608

NHS Litigation Authority

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he intends that the NHS Litigation Authority provide insurance cover for private providers of NHS services in the future.

Simon Burns: The NHS Litigation Authority does not currently provide insurance cover, but provides a discretionary indemnity to members of the statutory schemes established under section 71 of the National Health Service Act 2006. Membership of the schemes is voluntary.
	The Department is committed to making sure the same arrangements that provide clinical negligence cover to NHS bodies are also available to other providers that deliver NHS care, including other public sector providers and private providers.

NHS Litigation Authority

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases brought against the National Health Service Litigation Authority were funded by  (a) legal aid,  (b) a conditional fee agreement and  (c) by other forms of funding in each of the last three years; and how many in each category resulted in a compensation payment.

Simon Burns: The NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) supplied the information in the following table:
	
		
			  Numbers of overall claims settled by the NHSLA by year and by funding arrangement, including the subset of those claims that were settled with damages 
			  Settlement year  Legal Aid funded  Legal Aid funded and settled with damages  Conditional fee arrangement funded  Conditional fee arrangement funded and settled with damages  Before the event insurance or self funded  Before the event insurance or self funded and settled with damages 
			 2007-08 1,806 1,168 5,135 3,589 1,204 782 
			 2008-09 1,690 1,091 5,065 3,611 1,183 673 
			 2009-10 1,822 1,263 5,843 4,270 1,509 925

NHS Litigation Authority

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the national health service litigation authority.

Simon Burns: The Government are committed to ensuring that wherever possible resources are used to support the frontline. For this reason departmental officials are commissioning an industry review of the NHS litigation authority (NHSLA). The review will determine if the introduction of commercial techniques could improve the efficiency and effectiveness with which the NHSLA performs its functions.
	The review is due to report in the new year.

NHS: Negligence

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of clinical negligence claims brought in cases where  (a) the NHS and  (b) clinicians acting for the NHS have been demonstrated not to have adequately investigated clinical errors in the last 12 months.

Simon Burns: The Department has not made an estimate of the number of clinical negligence claims brought in cases where the national health service or clinicians acting for the NHS have been demonstrated not to have adequately investigated clinical errors in the last 12 months. Such information is not held centrally.

NHS: Procurement

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to increase the level of commercial skills among staff involved in NHS procurement.

Simon Burns: It is up to local trusts how they develop and deploy their procurement expertise, according to local needs. However, trusts are able to use collaborative partners to help them with their procurement. These partners include NHS Supply Chain, NHS Commercial Medicines Unit, Buying Solutions and regional Collaborative Procurement Hubs.

NHS: Procurement

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much he expects the NHS to spend on  (a) procurement processes and  (b) procured goods and services in each year from 2011-2015.

Simon Burns: In seeking to improve outcomes for their patients, local national health service commissioner and provider organisations are best placed and free to determine how much of the funding allocated to them they spend on procurement processes and on the procurement of goods and services. As part of this, the NHS will need to consider the scope for improving the efficiency of their procurement, as part of their requirement to deliver total efficiency improvements of up to £20 billion over the next four years.

Public Health

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from local authorities on the transfer of public health responsibilities from primary care trusts.

Anne Milton: As part of the consultation of 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS', local authorities made a number of representations, both in their own right and through their representative bodies including the Local Government Association and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives. Almost all upper tier local authorities in England and a large proportion of lower tier authorities responded to the consultation.
	In general, local authorities strongly supported the transfer of public health functions to local authorities and welcomed the dedicated resources that will follow the transfer of these functions. However, specific representations were made concerning ring-fencing public health resources at the local level, and the need for the public health outcomes framework to be produced in close partnership with local government.
	Following publication of the Public Health White Paper 'Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Our strategy for public health in England', the Government will shortly consult on both the public health outcomes framework and the commissioning and funding for public health. We will continue to work closely with local government during and after the consultation period, to ensure that we address areas of concern.

Responsibility Deal Networks

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) individuals,  (b) companies and  (c) other organisations have (i) attended and (ii) been invited to attend meetings of the Responsibility Deal Networks on (A) food, (B) alcohol, (C) behaviour changes, (D) physical activity and (E) health at work.

Anne Milton: A list of attendees at the meetings of the five Public Health Responsibility Deal networks has been placed in the Library.

Strokes

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many readmissions to hospital there were within 28 days of discharge in respect of patients originally admitted for stroke in each primary care trust in England in each of the last five years.

Simon Burns: Data for financial years 2004-05 to 2008-09 showing the number of 'Emergency readmissions to hospital within 28 days of discharge: Stroke (ICD 10 codes: 161 to 164)' (all ages, persons) are shown in the following table.
	These data were sourced from NHSnet version of the Compendium of Clinical and Health Indicators:
	www.nchod.nhs.uk
	Where the number of readmissions in a year is between one and five inclusive, data for that primary care trust (PCT) have been suppressed in the table and replaced with 'X'. This is in line with the Hospital Episode Statistics protocol.
	
		
			  Primary care organisation of residence  Number of readmissions 
			  PCO code  PCO name  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 5A3 South Gloucestershire PCT 26 71 106 29 24 
			 5A4 Havering PCT 15 19 32 31 23 
			 5A5 Kingston PCT 9 14 17 11 13 
			 5A7 Bromley PCT 29 44 43 27 28 
			 5A8 Greenwich Teaching PCT 26 13 19 19 23 
			 5A9 Barnet PCT 26 39 30 13 32 
			 5AT Hillingdon PCT 19 24 17 21 24 
			 5C1 Enfield PCT 32 24 23 15 40 
			 5C2 Barking and Dagenham PCT 11 10 15 11 8 
			 5C3 City and Hackney Teaching PCT 14 7 13 12 11 
			 5C4 Tower Hamlets PCT 19 14 18 14 15 
			 5C5 Newham PCT 21 12 21 15 17 
			 5C9 Haringey Teaching PCT 11 13 38 28 34 
			 5CC Blackburn With Darwen PCT 9 12 9 17 8 
			 5CN Herefordshire PCT 11 20 18 12 X 
			 5CQ Milton Keynes PCT 19 20 X 15 23 
			 5D7 Newcastle PCT 29 46 28 19 22 
			 5D8 North Tyneside PCT 18 18 15 25 25 
			 5D9 Hartlepool PCT 8 15 12 19 19 
			 5E1 Stockton-on-Tees Teaching PCT 28 19 19 18 25 
			 5EF North Lincolnshire PCT 13 8 12 10 21 
			 5EM Nottingham City PCT 31 25 14 18 36 
			 5ET Bassetlaw PCT 11 13 8 9 6 
			 5F1 Plymouth Teaching PCT 11 14 13 25 20 
			 5F5 Salford PCT 35 40 42 45 41 
			 5F7 Stockport PCT 35 30 33 38 54 
			 5FE Portsmouth City Teaching PCT 12 19 20 14 13 
			 5FL Bath and North East Somerset PCT 19 28 22 21 18 
			 5GC Luton PCT 17 16 17 9 20 
			 5H1 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 11 10 18 16 15 
			 5H8 Rotherham PCT 26 38 45 31 38 
			 5HG Ashton, Leigh and Wigan PCT 33 30 32 21 35 
			 5HP Blackpool PCT 11 15 10 10 12 
			 5HQ Bolton PCT 20 22 14 21 22 
			 5HX Ealing PCT 32 18 34 30 27 
			 5HY Hounslow PCT 20 20 7 22 18. 
			 5J2 Warrington PCT 13 9 10 21 26 
			 5J4 Knowsley PCT 22 23 19 13 18 
			 5J5 Oldham PCT 29 35 29 31 25 
			 5J6 Calderdale PCT 16 22 20 16 20 
			 5J9 Darlington PCT 7 11 12 11 14 
			 5JE Barnsley PCT 21 33 26 15 28 
			 5JX Bury PCT 14 13 23 22 16 
			 5K3 Swindon PCT 15 13 12 15 21 
			 5K5 Brent Teaching PCT 20 23 27 19 39 
			 5K6 Harrow PCT 18 11 14 13 20 
			 5K7 Camden PCT 24 17 16 15 16 
			 5K8 Islington PCT 13 10 26 18 23 
			 5K9 Croydon PCT 44 33 29 25 31 
			 5KF Gateshead PCT 23 16 18 24 30 
			 5KG South Tyneside PCT 11 9 11 11 19 
			 5KL Sunderland Teaching PCT 22 26 29 16 20 
			 5KM Middlesbrough PCT 22 9 17 21 24 
			 5L1 Southampton City PCT 13 14 6 21 23 
			 5L3 Medway PCT 23 23 28 29 28 
			 5LA Kensington and Chelsea PCT 12 20 13 16 19 
			 5LC Westminster PCT 19 25 18 21 20 
			 5LD Lambeth PCT 22 22 18 20 27 
			 5LE Southwark PCT 22 16 15 17 35 
			 5LF Lewisham PCT 20 25 41 41 38 
			 5LG Wandsworth Teaching PCT 26 24 17 26 30 
			 5LH Tameside and Glossop PCT 30 26 33 24 30 
			 5LQ Brighton and Hove City Teaching PCT 20 36 30 32 27 
			 5M1 South Birmingham PCT 22 29 30 30 37 
			 5M2 Shropshire County PCT 28 30 22 27 28 
			 5M3 Walsall Teaching PCT 24 34 31 38 40 
			 5M6 Richmond and Twickenham PCT 12 12 X 8 19 
			 5M7 Sutton and Merton PCT 35 26 26 38 38 
			 5M8 North Somerset PCT 21 24 40 20 19 
			 5MD Coventry Teaching PCT 28 22 24 25 24 
			 5MK Telford and Wrekin PCT 12 22 16 19 25 
			 5MV Wolverhampton City PCT 31 24 19 21 28 
			 5MX Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT 19 23 22 35 54 
			 5N1 Leeds PCT 98 69 61 53 70 
			 5N2 Kirklees PCT 32 31 37 29 28 
			 5N3 Wakefield District PCT 29 46 35 43 37 
			 5N4 Sheffield PCT 54 70 59 70 63 
			 5N5 Doncaster PCT 32 40 37 28 27 
			 5N6 Derbyshire County PCT 73 63 66 58 73 
			 5N7 Derby City PCT 17 25 23 19 34 
			 5N8 Nottinghamshire County Teaching PCT 49 60 49 63 66 
			 5N9 Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 73 104 73 77 69 
			 5NA Redbridge PCT 15 33 21 31 16 
			 5NC Waltham Forest PCT 10 22 23 15 33 
			 5ND County Durham PCT 36 41 45 51 57 
			 5NE Cumbria Teaching PCT 67 58 61 52 64 
			 5NF North Lancashire PCT 21 34 30 27 27 
			 5NG Central Lancashire PCT 21 50 50 44 72 
			 5NH East Lancashire Teaching PCT 33 33 28 32 46 
			 5NJ Sefton PCT 59 41 33 47 36 
			 5NK Wirral PCT 48 52 49 50 55 
			 5NL Liverpool PCT 61 65 55 76 62 
			 5NM Halton and St Helens PCT 30 36 23 19 41 
			 5NN Western Cheshire PCT 28 21 27 26 17 
			 5NP Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT 28 34 23 37 43 
			 5NQ Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT 22 22 30 25 22 
			 5NR Trafford PCT 15 13 11 24 21 
			 5NT Manchester PCT 48 44 49 61 55 
			 5NV North Yorkshire and York PCT 70 64 62 67 71 
			 5NW East Riding of Yorkshire PCT 26 21 19 34 46 
			 5NX Hull Teaching PCT 23 20 20 25 24 
			 5NY Bradford and Airedale Teaching PCT 45 52 52 58 59 
			 5P1 South East Essex PCT 41 54 38 38 45 
			 5P2 Bedfordshire PCT 28 27 21 26 32 
			 5P3 East and North Hertfordshire PCT 33 33 31 36 38 
			 5P4 West Hertfordshire PCT 45 51 52 46 64 
			 5P5 Surrey PCT 78 74 102 114 126 
			 5P6 West Sussex PCT 90 83 99 69 80 
			 5P7 East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT 36 26 24 41 43 
			 5P8 Hastings and Rother PCT 25 36 48 29 42 
			 5P9 West Kent PCT 53 66 68 66 74 
			 5PA Leicestershire County and Rutland PCT 38 52 65 78 74 
			 5PC Leicester City PCT 16 27 21 37 28 
			 5PD Northamptonshire Teaching PCT 67 51 52 45 62 
			 5PE Dudley PCT 22 29 38 29 31 
			 5PF Sandwell PCT 26 44 37 35 32 
			 5PG Birmingham East and North PCT 39 41 56 67 71 
			 5PH North Staffordshire PCT 14 8 16 16 27 
			 5PJ Stoke On Trent PCT 27 17 28 22 34 
			 5PK South Staffordshire PCT 52 48 44 67 54 
			 5PL Worcestershire PCT 54 44 43 46 77 
			 5PM Warwickshire PCT 52 54 39 31 57 
			 5PN Peterborough PCT 17 13 13 14 17 
			 5PP Cambridgeshire PCT 42 51 45 54 51 
			 5PQ Norfolk PCT 62 54 60 70 75 
			 5PR Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT 22 36 18 18 30 
			 5PT Suffolk PCT 57 55 63 66 70 
			 5PV West Essex PCT 25 23 33 33 32 
			 5PW North East Essex PCT 29 48 33 25 38 
			 5PX Mid Essex PCT 34 33 33 32 31 
			 5PY South West Essex PCT 35 31 34 30 25 
			 5QA Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 69 83 90 101 109 
			 5QC Hampshire PCT 93 107 79 109 116 
			 5QD Buckinghamshire PCT 40 41 25 49 37 
			 5QE Oxfordshire PCT 55 42 36 45 56 
			 5QF Berkshire West PCT 31 23 30 20 28 
			 5QG Berkshire East PCT 24 24 32 22 38 
			 5QH Gloucestershire PCT 51 65 56 47 64 
			 5QJ Bristol PCT 35 85 110 65 37 
			 5QK Wiltshire PCT 43 38 41 31 36 
			 5QL Somerset PCT 56 69 67 55 63 
			 5QM Dorset PCT 52 51 36 47 58 
			 5QN Bournemouth and Poole Teaching PCT 32 50 38 40 37 
			 5QP Cornwall and Isles of Scilly PCT 55 69 52 49 54 
			 5QQ Devon PCT 68 80 70 72 76 
			 5QR Redcar and Cleveland PCT 24 19 12 19 14 
			 5QT Isle of Wight NHS PCT 13 12 9 7 23 
			 TAC Northumberland Care Trust 39 65 57 39 45 
			 TAK Bexley Care Trust 18 21 36 24 26 
			 TAL Torbay Care Trust 17 14 23 19 19 
			 TAM Solihull Care Trust North East Lincolnshire Care Trust 17 26 23 33 27 
			 TAN Plus 10 14 X 12 10

EDUCATION

Academies

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools have been removed from the list of those expressing an interest in becoming an academy because they were included in error.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 8 December 2010
	Any school may choose to register an interest in becoming an academy, and equally they may request that their interest is de-registered at any time. We do not collect information on why they have asked that their interest is withdrawn, and we no longer publish such a list. We do, however, on a monthly basis publish the total number of schools which have registered an interest in converting to academy status and the names of those which have formally applied. This was last updated on 3 December and the link can be found on the Academies pages of the Department's website:
	www.education.gov.uk
	under the heading "Schools submitting applications and open academies".

Academies

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools he estimates will have signed academy agreements under the terms of the Academies Act 2010 by September 2010.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 6 September 2010
	As at 30 September 2010, 144 Academy Orders had been signed covering 152 schools.

Building Schools for the Future Programme: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will estimate the costs incurred by schools in Coventry in respect of their preparation and presentation of bids for inclusion in the Building Schools for the Future programme.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 1 December 2010
	 No estimate has been made by the Department of the costs incurred by schools in Coventry in preparing and presenting bids for BSF projects and we have no plans to estimate them.
	The design of the BSF programme meant that significant sums had to be spent by schools before contracts were finalised. We have terminated the BSF programme to prevent waste of that kind. The review of DfE capital led by Sebastian James is looking at alternative designs to avoid waste.

Children: Communication Skills

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will  (a) prioritise communication competency in his forthcoming Schools White Paper and  (b) assess the merits of including communication competency as a measurable outcome in the school curriculum; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: We are determined to create an education system that delivers high standards for all children, and communication skills are an important part of this. All aspects of communication competence are built into the curriculum framework for English in primary schools and are subject to assessment at key stages 1 and 2. The Schools White Paper focuses on a range of key issues including the curriculum. Copies of the Schools White Paper can be found in the House of Commons Library and also at the following link:
	http://publications.education.gov.uk/default.aspx?Page Function:=productdetails&PageMode=publications&Productld =CM+7980&
	We will be announcing plans for a review of the national curriculum shortly.

Discretionary Learner Support Fund

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to announce the mechanisms by which the Discretionary Learner Support Fund will operate in the 2011-12 academic year; and what guidance his Department plans to issue to further education institutions on that fund.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 25 November 2010
	We plan to allocate the enhanced funding in line with the timetable for overall funding allocations for schools and colleges, which will be made by the end of March 2011.
	We will work with representatives of schools, colleges and training providers to finalise the arrangements for the enhanced fund, including how the funding will flow to institutions and what guidance is required to administer the fund effectively.

Discretionary Learner Support Fund

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department will retain responsibility for the funding allocated to the Discretionary Learner Support Fund when it replaces education maintenance allowance.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 25 November 2010
	The Department for Education will be responsible for the new enhanced discretionary learner support fund. The Young People's Learning Agency will allocate funding to schools, colleges and training providers on the Department's behalf.

Discretionary Learner Support Fund

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding formula will be used to allocate funding from the Discretionary Learner Support Fund to schools, colleges and sixth forms; and whether additional costs in respect of administration of that fund will be met separately from the funding for students.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 25 November 2010
	We expect the administration of the enhanced discretionary learner support fund to be based on existing arrangements for such funds, which allow schools, colleges and training providers to target support to those young people in greatest need.
	Under current arrangements, schools and colleges are able to use up to 5% of their allocation to meet the costs of administration. In finalising the arrangements for the enhanced discretionary learner support scheme the Department will consult with schools, colleges and training organisations.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether there will be an automatic entitlement to financial support through the Discretionary Learner Support fund in the academic year 2011-12 for students  (a) with special educational needs,  (b) who are looked after by the local authority and (c) who have a physical or mental disability.

Nick Gibb: Decisions regarding the new discretionary fund will be made locally, enabling schools, colleges and training providers to target support at those young people in greatest need.
	In finalising the arrangements for the enhanced discretionary learner support, the Department will consult with schools, colleges and training organisations and other interested parties, including on how to ensure that the most vulnerable young people, who are facing genuine financial barriers to participation, receive appropriate support to enable them to continue in education or training.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how student need will be defined in relation to eligibility for assistance from the Discretionary Learner Support fund in the academic year 2011-12.

Nick Gibb: Decisions regarding the new discretionary fund will be made locally, enabling schools, colleges and training providers to target support at those young people in greatest need. The Government do not intend to dictate to schools, colleges and training providers how they should determine which young people should benefit from the new fund.
	In finalising the arrangements for the enhanced discretionary learner support fund, the Department will consult with schools, colleges and training organisations, including on what guidance is required to administer the fund effectively.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what consultation he has undertaken with  (a) further education colleges,  (b) young people and  (c) local authorities on the ending of education maintenance allowance.

Nick Gibb: The Government took the decision to end the education maintenance allowance (EMA) on the basis of evaluation and other research evidence which indicates that the scheme does not effectively target those young people who need financial support to enable them to participate in education and training.
	The changes have been discussed with the Learner Support Consultative Forum, operated by the Young People's Learning Agency, which involves representatives of young people and of colleges. In finalising the arrangements for the enhanced discretionary learner support scheme that will replace EMA, the Department will consult with schools, colleges, training organisations and other interested parties.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for North West Durham on 15 November 2010,  Official Report, column 592W, on education maintenance allowance, on what date the discretionary learner support fund will begin issuing funding to students; what mechanisms will be in place for student support before grants from for that fund are made available for the next academic year; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The new enhanced discretionary learner support fund will be introduced for the start of the 2011/12 academic year. All young people who apply for an education maintenance allowance (EMA) before 1 January 2011 and are assessed as eligible may continue to receive EMA through to the end of the 2010/11 academic year (providing they meet any conditions set by their school, college or training provider). Discretionary funding is also available in 2010/11, under current arrangements.
	We plan to allocate the enhanced funding in line with the timetable for overall funding allocations, which will be made by the end of March 2011.

Education Maintenance Allowance: Greater London

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of young people entering an institution of further education in the 2011-12 academic year who will receive financial support from the Government.

Nick Gibb: Decisions regarding the new discretionary fund will be made locally, enabling schools, colleges and training providers to target support at those young people in greatest need. It is not, therefore, possible to estimate the proportion of young people entering an institution of further education in the 2011-12 academic year who will receive support under the new arrangements.
	The current discretionary scheme supports around 200,000 young people each year.

Education Maintenance Allowance: Stoke-on-Trent

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many young people resident in Stoke-on-Trent Central constituency have received education maintenance allowance since its creation.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) who operate the education maintenance allowance for the Department for Education. Peter Lauener, the YPLA's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member for Stoke on Trent Central with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

Education Maintenance Allowance: Stoke-on-Trent

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many young people resident in Stoke-on-Trent Central constituency receive education maintenance allowance.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) who operate the education maintenance allowance for the Department for Education. Peter Lauener, the YPLA's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member for Stoke on Trent with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

Education: Assessments

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what  (a) methodology and  (b) tools were used to assess the progress of children who did not sit SATs in 2010; and whether the baseline against which such assessments were made was adjusted to take account of those children who did not sit SATs; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: In 2010, 4,005 maintained schools did not administer the key stage 2 national curriculum tests, representing 26% of the 15,515 schools expected to administer them. It is unfortunate that parents and pupil in those schools will not have benefited from the information that the test results provide. At the end of key stage 2, schools are also required to report a teacher assessment result to parents.
	The Department published the national key stage 2 test results on 3 August. Information on progression in English and Mathematics between key stage 1 and key stage 2 was published on 7 October. This information is based on pupils who sat the tests in 2010 and can be viewed at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000949/index.shtml
	The Department's chief statistician has confirmed that the 2010 national key stage 2 test results are representative of the national picture and comparable to previous years.

Families: Advisory Services

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for  (a) the future and  (b) future funding of the Family Information Direct programme.

Sarah Teather: I appreciate the hard work of the organisations that have been funded through the Family Information Direct programme to deliver support to families. As the National Prospectus published by my Department on 22 November 2010 states, we are currently considering inviting bids for a range of future family services delivered online and through telephone services from April 2011; and further information will be available in due course.

Free Schools: Inspections

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent discussions he has had with Ofsted on procedures for registering and monitoring free schools.

Nick Gibb: The Department has regular discussions with Ofsted on a range of matters including free schools. As independent schools, free schools, like academies will be subject to a pre-registration inspection, which occurs under section 160(4) of the Education Act 2002. Once open, in the same way as academies, free schools will be subject to regular inspection by Ofsted under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Section 5 inspections apply to maintained schools and academies.

Free Schools: Playgrounds

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on the provision of outdoor play space at free schools.

Nick Gibb: Free schools are subject to the requirements of The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010. These regulations require that there should be appropriate arrangements for providing outside space for pupils to play safely.
	The terms of reference for the current review of capital investment in schools, early years, colleges and sixth forms include the review and reform of the requirements on schools including regulations, design requirements and playing field requirements.

New Schools Network

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 6 September 2010,  Official Report, column 350W, on the New Schools Network, what meetings  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department have had with representatives of the New Schools Network since 30 June 2010.

Nick Gibb: Ministers met New Schools Network (NSN) representatives on 1 October, 12 October, 20 October and 10 November 2010. Officials meet NSN on a regular basis to review proposals they have receive.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of children who would qualify for the proposed pupil premium under each of the three possible sets of criteria set out in his Department's consultation document.

Nick Gibb: The three options set out in the consultation documents were (a) Free School Meals-either for those eligible in-year; for those eligible in any of the last three years, or for those eligible in any of the last six years-(b) for those children whose parents receive the Out of Work Tax Credit, or (c) using a geodemographic measure such as ACORN or MOSAIC.
	For the Free School Meals and Out of Work Tax Credit options, the approximate numbers are as follows:
	
		
			  Option  Pupils qualifying 
			 FSM in-year (16%) 1,079,000 
			 FSM ever 3 (19%) 1,281,000 
			 FSM ever 6 (24%) 1,618,000 
			 Out of Work Tax Credit (20%) 1,348,000 
			  Notes: 1. These figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000. 2. Based upon a total pupil population of 6,741,607 FTE pupils (which is Reception to Year-11 pupils in mainstream settings funded through the DSG plus those in academies). 3. Figures are for 2010-11, because this was the basis for the other figures included in the consultation document. 4. These figures are intended only for use in comparing between these four options. 
		
	
	ACORN and MOSAIC are geographical based measures and the number of children who would qualify for the premium would depend on which groups and postcodes are used.
	There was a range of responses to the consultation with each option having its supporters. These are being considered and we expect to make an announcement shortly.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the funding likely to be allocated to schools in Newham through the proposed Pupil Premium.

Nick Gibb: We are considering the responses to the consultation on school funding which ended on 18 October, including the question of which deprivation indicator to use. The amount of funding that will be allocated to schools in a constituency will depend on this decision.

Runaway Children

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education by what mechanisms local authorities collect data on the number of children who run away from  (a) home and  (b) care; and how many children have run away from (a) home and (b) care in each local authority area in each of the last 30 years.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 4 November 2010
	Local police forces are currently required to share data from the Police National Computer (PNC) on the numbers of missing young people reported to them with the Missing Persons' Bureau in the National Police Improvement Agency (NPIA). It is for local authorities to then determine the best ways to work with the police to collate the data on numbers of runaways in their area, whether from home or from care.
	It is not known how many children have run away from home or care in each local authority in each of the last 30 years as this information is not collected centrally.

School Food Trust

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what functions with respect to school meals his Department will have responsibility for when the School Food Trust becomes a charity;
	(2)  what assets are held by the School Food Trust; and whether these will revert to his Department when the Trust becomes a charity;
	(3)  for what reasons he proposes to convert the School Food Trust to a charity;
	(4)  under what circumstances the School Food Trust will become a community interest company; and what assessment he has made of the potential effects such a change of status will have for  (a) schools and  (b) pupils.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 11 November 2010
	 The School Food Trust was established as a charity in 2005. From 1 April 2011, it will cease to be an arm's length body, but will continue as a charity. The School Food Trust also plans to set up a community interest company to work alongside the charity.
	The Government's review of the School Food Trust, as part of its wider review of arm's length bodies, concluded that schools, local authorities and others would continue to benefit from expert advice about school food, but that this need not come directly from Government. The School Food Trust will therefore continue to have an important role to play in supporting schools and local authorities to meet national nutritional standards for school lunches.
	This reflects the Government's commitment to ensuring that pupils can eat healthy, nutritious food. The School Food Trust will continue to work for the benefit of schools and pupils by giving advice, including to government, informed by its expertise and by the practical work it does out in the field.
	The Government and the School Food Trust are continuing to work through the practical and legal issues, such as the ownership of assets, in time for its change of status from next April.
	The Department for Education will continue to have policy responsibility for the nutritional standards for school food and for the provision of school meals.

Schools

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many secondary schools in England are  (a) community,  (b) voluntary-aided,  (c) voluntary-controlled,  (d) foundation,  (e) academy and  (f) city technology colleges; and how many schools in each category offer vocational educational courses to 14 and 15 year olds.

Nick Gibb: The Department does not hold information on the courses offered by secondary schools but does hold information on the qualifications entered. The following table gives the number of secondary schools with pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in each category that were published in the 2009 Achievement and Attainment Tables and the proportion of these schools that had at least one entry in a vocational qualification.
	
		
			  School type  No. of schools with at least one pupil at the end of KS4  No. of schools with entries in vocational qualifications( 1)  (including general vocational qualifications( 2) )  % of schools with entries in vocational qualifications( 1)  (including general vocational qualifications( 2) )  No. of schools with entries in vocational qualifications( 1)  (excluding general vocational qualifications( 2) )  % of schools with entries in vocational qualifications( 1)  (excluding general vocational qualifications( 2) ) 
			 Community 1,619 1,613 99.6 1,608 99.3 
			 Voluntary Aided 515 503 97.7 499 96.9 
			 Voluntary Controlled 81 81 100.0 81 100.0 
			 Foundation 743 723 97.3 718 96.6 
			 Academy 123 121 98.4 120 97.6 
			 City Technology College 3 3 100.0 3 100.0 
			 (1) Vocational qualifications include NVQs, BTEC First Certificates and Diplomas, OCR National Awards and Certificates and other vocationally related qualifications at levels 1 and 2. (2) General vocational qualifications include vocational GCSE single and double awards and GNVQs.

Schools: Asbestos

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  if he will commission an assessment of the risks from asbestos in schools to  (a) children and  (b) other occupants;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the  (a) extent,  (b) type and  (c) condition of asbestos present in the fabric of maintained schools;
	(3)  what measures he has put in place to identify asbestos in  (a) secondary and  (b) primary schools during refurbishment work;
	(4)  what measures he has put in place to prioritise those schools with the most dangerous asbestos for refurbishment or replacement works;
	(5)  what measures he has put in place to remove asbestos when refurbishment takes place in  (a) secondary and  (b) primary schools; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 30 November 2010
	The Department has no plans to commission an assessment of the risks from asbestos in schools. The Government Scientific Advisory Committee Working Group on Action to Control Chemicals (WATCH), which considers all aspects of risk from toxic chemicals including asbestos, is currently examining the risks of lung cancer and mesothelioma from low level exposure to asbestos fibres. Their findings will be made known to the recently formed Asbestos in Schools Steering Group chaired by the Department.
	On the numbers of maintained schools containing Asbestos Containing Materials (ACMs), I refer you to the answer given to me on the 4 June 2009,  Official Report, column 657W, by the former Minister of State for Schools. This stated that:
	"Our best estimate in September 2008 was that around 70% of school buildings contain some ACMs."
	These schools are likely to contain a range of ACMs, e.g. moulded or preformed asbestos in the lagging used as thermal insulation on pipes and boilers; asbestos insulating board used for fire protection, thermal insulation, partitioning and ducts; and asbestos-containing floor tiles and textured coatings. The responsibility to assess the condition of ACMs falls to the duty holder under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006.
	Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations, statutory duties are placed on those who are responsible for repair and maintenance of non-domestic premises. In a maintained school, the duty holder is normally the maintaining local authority-where there is delegated funding this duty is often shared with the head teacher. For academies, voluntary aided and foundation schools, the duty holder is the school's governing body. For independent schools, it is the proprietor, governors or trustees. The Department is working with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and asbestos training providers to produce training for head teachers to make sure they are fully aware of their roles and responsibilities.
	A recent questionnaire survey and follow-up work of HSE shows that the majority of local authorities were managing asbestos in their schools. Formal enforcement action in the form of 18 improvement notices and one prohibition notice was taken against 10 local authorities requiring improvements to their asbestos management arrangements. The reports of this work and the letter to local authorities reminding them of their responsibilities under the Control of Asbestos Regulations can be found at:
	www.hse.gov.uk/services/education/information.htm#asbestos
	It is for the duty holder to assess, with expert advice, the action which needs to be taken when buildings are refurbished, depending on the location of the asbestos materials in relation to the location, nature and extent of the works to be carried out. Removal, encapsulation, repair or management in situ may all be appropriate actions. Responsibility for prioritisation of specific projects rests with individual schools and local authorities.
	Asbestos does not pose a serious risk if it is in good condition and managed in accordance with the Control of Asbestos Regulations. HSE does not recommend the routine removal of asbestos. Its advice remains that, providing that ACMs are maintained in good condition, they can be left in situ and managed until a building reaches the end of its life, at which time ACMs can be removed without risks to building users who would otherwise be exposed to fibres arising from significant disturbance.

Schools: Meat

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will review levels of meat consumption in schools for the purpose of improving public health.

Sarah Teather: The Government have no plans to review the levels of meat consumption in schools. School food must meet the nutritional standards.
	Pupils need the right balance of food and nutrients to develop and grow. The nutrient-based standards have been designed to make the food offered healthier by increasing the vitamin and mineral content and by decreasing the fat, saturated fat and salt content. Meat is a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals, such as iron and zinc.
	The regulations which set the standards do not specify that schools must provide meat options or vegetarian options. Schools should make every effort to cater for all pupils' needs in order to provide a popular, viable service that is also compliant with the standards. In doing so, many will want to take account of environmental and health considerations.

Young People: Crime

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding his Department has allocated for youth crime provision in London in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and what estimate he made of the amount of such funding allocated in respect of young people aged  (a) 12 years and under,  (b) between 13 and 17 years and  (c) between 18 and 24 years in 2009-10.

Tim Loughton: For 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 allocated funded for youth crime provision in London is set out as in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			  Programme  2008-09  2009-10  2010-11  Total 
			 Intensive Intervention programme (2 projects) 450,000 450,000 450,000 1,350,000 
			 Challenge and support (11 programmes) 1,100,000 825,000 825,000 2,750,000 
			 4,100,000 
		
	
	In the same period 13 London boroughs were allocated the following for youth crime provision:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2008-09 65,000 
			 2009-10(1) 350,000 
			 2010-11(1) 350,000 
			 (1)( )This includes funding allocated for Family Intervention (FIPs) and Think Family reforms. FIPs and Think Family reforms are not solely aimed at youth crime. 
		
	
	This funding was allocated from a joint pot from the Home Office, Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the then named Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) under the Youth Crime Action Plan to tackle offending by young people aged under 18.
	The Ministry of Justice has provided the following amounts to London Youth Offending Teams over the last five years:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2009/10 24,428,567 
			 2008/09 23,572,365 
			 2007/08 21,311,756 
			 2006/07 19,983,897 
			 2005/06 17,118,846 
		
	
	These figures include funding from both the Home Office and the Department but cannot be separated out due to disproportionate cost, and are not broken down by age range.
	In addition the Department also allocated £4.1 million in 08-09 and £3 million in 2009-10 to the Youth Justice Board to support Intensive Fostering Pilots.
	It is not possible to provide a break down for different age categories of young people beyond the broad distinctions set out above.